Pirelli upgrades, expands Russian plants

VORONEZH, Russia — Pirelli Tyre S.pA. has completed a  three-year, $220 million investment to upgrade tire plants in Voronezh and Kirov, Russia, that the tire maker acquired in 2010.

The investments have turned Voronezh into one of Russia's “most technologically advanced” tire plants, Pirell claims, and included introducing the production of premium tires at the 70-year-old facility.

Among the improvements made at Voronezh were rebuilding old structures, refurbishing workshops, installing new mixing equipment and introducing Pirelli technology and processes, the tire maker said in a March 10 business report. Employment stands at 1,023.

Built in 1946 a source of bicycle, scooter, car, tractor and truck tires for the post-World War II Soviet Union economy, the plant now develops and produces premium segment passenger tires in rim diameters ranging from 16 to 21 inches, Pirelli said, for both the Russian replacement and OE markets and for export to markets in East and West Europe.

By contrast, Kirov was established three years earlier at the height of the war with Nazi Germany to take over production from a plant in Yaroslavl that was at risk of bombardment, Pirelli said.

Kirov is roughly 600 miles east of Moscow, whereas Yaroslavl is about 150 miles north-north-west of Moscow. Voronezh is 300 miles south of Moscow.

The original Kirov factory was in a wooden structure that gradually was converted to stone, without interrupting production.

In 1965 the plant was awarded the Order of Red Banner for the development and industrialization of the Soviet Union's first radial tires.

The plant now produces Pirelli- and Amtel-brand tires in the 13- to 16-inch rim diameter range, also supplying several car factories in Russia, Pirelli said, with 2,200 employees.

“Almost as soon as Pirelli took over operational control of Kirov,” the tire maker said, “together with its partner Rostec, a large-scale moderniztion of the plant started in December 2011.”  Factory specialists from Italy, Germany and elsewhere in Europe were sent to the two sites for training.

Pirelli operates the Kirov and Voronezh plants through Pirelli Tyre Russia, a joint venture with Russian Technologies State Corp. (Rostec), in which Pirelli owns 65 percent.

The JV paid $300 million in 2010 for Sibur Holding's tire assets and agreed to invest another $265 million in modernization measures,