Mexico still plays a role in Michelin’s future plans. Following Donald Trump’s comments on cross-border import duties and Ford’s decision to scrap plans for a new US$1.6 billion factory in the country, Michelin chief executive officer Jean-Dominique Senard has given his reassurance that the tyre maker hasn’t got cold feet.
On 24 October Japanese conglomerate Marubeni announced it had purchased a large minority shareholding in Mexican tyre dealer Radial Llantas. According to the company, Marubeni has bought 49 per cent of the shares in Radial Llantas. The pricetag for the stockholding is said to be “several billion yen”, according to Wards Auto.
Brembo announced that it inaugurated its new brake plant in Escobedo, Mexico on 20 October. Completed in record time, with an investment of $36 million, the new plant will focus on the production of aluminium calipers and is intended to strengthen Brembo’s presence in North America. At the same time the company announced a plan to invest an additional $93 million to build a new foundry for cast iron discs.
Ground was broken and the first stone set in place for the new Michelin plant in Mexico at a ceremony held yesterday and attended by government dignitaries, key customers and company management. Construction of the plant in León – Michelin’s 69th factory globally and 21st in North America – is expected to begin immediately, with completion currently scheduled for late 2018.
The China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) reports that its subsidiary Pirelli “recently” held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new facility in Mexico. It shares that the US$360 million has been invested in the new plant so far, and by the end of 2018 the total investment figure will exceed $600 million.
According to reports from Mexico, Michelin has signed a contract to acquire land for a new passenger car and light truck tyre factory in Guanajuato state. Mexican publication ‘am’ shares that Hector Lopez Santillana, mayor of Guanajuato León municipality, has reported a sale contract has been signed for one block of land, and negotiations are currently being held over the sale of a second, 80 hectare block.
Pirelli has announced a US$200 million investment in Mexico to establish a second factory near its existing passenger car tyre plant in Silao, Guanajuato state. The project to build the facility was announced during yesterday’s visit by Italian Prime Minster, Matteo Renzi, to Palacio Nacional in Mexico City, where he met with President of Mexico, Pena Nieto.
According to reports, Michelin intends to erect a new passenger car and light truck tyre factory in Mexico. Citing information from “documents” and an e-mailed statement, Reuters writes that this plant would initially have an annual capacity to produce 5 million tyres, a number that could be doubled by around 2020 should market conditions favour growth. The facility will be located in the state of Guanajuato and be ready to enter production in 2017.
In the middle of November, ZC Rubber opened its second flagship Westlake tyre retail outlet in Mexico. According to the company, the opening took place after months of preparation. Vice president of ZC Rubber Guorong Ge attended the opening ceremony and hosted a dealer meeting with the local Westlake dealer the same day.
Nico Rosberg won the first Mexican Grand Prix in 23 years from pole with a two-stop strategy. Using soft-medium-medium Pirelli tyres, he beat his teammate Lewis Hamilton to secure a 10th one-two of the season for Mercedes. Rosberg also moved back to second in the driver points standings. Behind them, race strategies were affected by a safety car with just 20 laps to go. This effectively allowed a ‘free’ pit stop, which meant that those contemplating another stop could do so without a big penalty.
The penultimate event in the FIM Motocross World Championship, the MXGP of Leon in Mexico, saw Dunlop riders Shaun Simpson (KTM) and Evgeny Bobryshev (Honda) finish in second and third places. Gautier Paulin was in line for a top finish but a crash in the second race saw him drop to sixth overall.
Work has officially begun on the passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyre factory Goodyear Tire & Rubber is setting up to satisfy anticipated demand within the Americas. A groundreaking ceremony was held at the San Luis Potosi site in Mexico yesterday.
Mexican carrier Morgan Express says ti achieved reductions by retreading over 800 tyres from its fleet with Vipal materials. Morgan has over 40 years of experience in the logistics markets, with facilities in five Mexican cities (Guadalajara, Monterrey, Nuevo Laredo, Veracruz, and Mexico City). The company, which has a fleet of around 150 vehicles, retreaded over 800 heavy duty tyres in 2014, using Vipal’s VEL B and V167 B treads.
Carbon black manufacturer Sid Richardson Carbon & Energy Co. says it has “roots planted deep in Texas”. These roots will soon stretch south of the border, however. The company has announced it has begun the planning phase for the construction of a carbon black production facility in Mexico. Company president and CEO Bill Jones says the plant is expected to be producing carbon black by 2017.
Together with Mexico’s President, Enrique Peña Nieto, Goodyear Tire & Rubber chairman and chief executive officer Richard J. Kramer has announced that the tyre maker’s new factory for the Americas will be built in San Luis Potosi. Goodyear says the new factory will be its most technologically advanced plant and have a capacity of six million consumer tyres per year. When it reaches full production, the factory will employ about 1,000 people.
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