En Englais: Pirelli hits milestone in Mexico

SILAO, Mexico— Pirelli Neumaticos S.A. has passed a production milestone — the 5 millionth unit produced ahead of schedule at its plant in Silao, Mexico.

The plant passed the milestone June 18, just three years after production at the facility was commissioned.

To celebrate the occasion, Pirelli invited Miguel Marquez Marquez, governor of Guanajuato, and Guillermo Romero Pacheco, secretary of economic development of Guanajuato, to a ceremony at the plant.

Pirelli Neumaticos CEO and Managing Director Thomas Grávalos and Fernando Madeira Toledo, industrial director, hosted the event along with other executives and staff of the plant.

The tire maker did not say how far ahead of schedule the plant is, but did say the achievement reflected the “important work and ability of Pirelli's partners to implement high quality technology, production processes and productivity.”

A year ago, the company said annual capacity at the factory is scheduled to reach 3.5 million tires by year-end 2015 and 5.5 million by 2017, by which time investment in the 1.45 million sq.-ft. plant will have reached $400 million.

Mr. Marquez said Guanajuato has become a “magnet for investment in the automotive industry with the participation of companies such as Pirelli, where we are demonstrating that we can ensure rapid growth in the automotive business in Mexico and Latin America.”

The majority of the tires produced at Silao are sold in the NAFTA region, Pirelli said. Capacity is dedicated to premium, high-performance and ultra-high-performance tires for cars and trucks.

At the ceremony, Mr. Grávalos credited the achievement to the workers at the plant, partners and local suppliers. Pirelli expects to have more than 1,400 direct jobs and 400 indirect jobs at the plant by late 2017.