Michelin upgrading French ag tire plant

TROYES, France — Group Michelin has put into production at its Troyes factory a new generation of tire-building equipment for agricultural tires that it claims is more efficient and ergonomic than current-generation machinery.

The christening of this is new equipment — dubbed "Cosmos" — is part of a six-year, $85 million modernization and expansion project at the 61-year-old factory in Troyes, a city of about 62,000 residents in north-central France about 100 miles southeast of Paris.

Developed internally by Michelin engineers, the Cosmos building machinery is designed to make the tire builders' work easier on agricultural tires, which can measure up to six and half feet high, the company said. Throughout the development process, the design teams put people at the center of the priorities, the company added.

Cosmos uses technology suited to the specific nature of agricultural tire manufacture, taking into account the products' size, weight, material technology, etc., Michelin said.

Commissioning of the new equipment falls under the purview of Michelin's 2021-2026 strategic roadmap, designed to consolidate the plant's overall performance and strengthen its place in the group's industrial strategy in Europe, based on two priorities:

• Manufacture tomorrow's tire ranges at competitive prices, by focusing on more lucrative markets, especially the high-power tractor market;
• Develop the site's attractiveness by improving the quality of life in the workplace in all its aspects.

The plant, opened in 1963 by Pneumatiques Kleber and staffed by 750 employees, represents 40% of Michelin's global capacity for agricultural tire production. It exports 29% of its output to North America. Michelin acquired Kleber in 1981.

From an environmental point of view, implementing Cosmos will help reduce the use of solvents at the plant by around 20%, Michelin said, while economically its use enhances flexibility and increases the range of sizes that can be manufactured.

Parallel to the launch of the Cosmos technology, Michelin has set up a manufacturing workshop modernization project at Troyes, where in 2022 robots were introduced to help reduce or eliminate grueling tasks with a low added value within workshops. A project to implement automated carts is also under way.

Among customers using products made at Troyes are ag/farm equipment machinery constructors CNH Group (Case, Steyr, New Holland), AGCO Group (Fendt, Challenger, Massey-Ferguson and Valtra), John Deere and CLAAS, Michelin said.