Pirelli
& C. S.p.A. plans to build a $210 million car and light truck tire
plant in Mexico in the next couple years to support projected growth
for high-performance tires in the North American market.
The investment is part of Pirelli’s five-year industrial plan, which
calls for the company to focus on growth in the world’s expanding
markets, notably Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region, in order to
achieve average sales growth of 8 percent annually through 2015. The tiremaker
is budgeting $2.65 billion globally over five years toward modernizing
its manufacturing capacities, with a goal of ensuring 60 percent of its
equipment is less than 10 years old.
The greenfield plant in Mexico is slated to come on stream in 2012 and
reach full capacity – 5 million units annually – by 2015. While the
exact location of the plant, which will mostly provide product for the
U.S. and Canada, has not been revealed, Pirelli officials said that
information will soon follow.
The tiremaker also will set up production in Russia, according to
reports. In total, the investments are 27 percent greater than what the
company spent between 2006-2010, Pirelli said.
