21 November 2009 - 18H19  

Michelin chief announces new factory in Brazil: report
Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Luiz Fernando Beraldi president for Latin America of French tyre maker Michelin pose with the mascot during the inauguration of a new earthmover plant in Campo Grande in 2008. Michelin will build a new factory in Brazil at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, the company's chief executive Michel Rollier told a newspaper Saturday.
Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Luiz Fernando Beraldi president for Latin America of French tyre maker Michelin pose with the mascot during the inauguration of a new earthmover plant in Campo Grande in 2008. Michelin will build a new factory in Brazil at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, the company's chief executive Michel Rollier told a newspaper Saturday.

AFP - French tyre maker Michelin will build a new factory in Brazil at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, the company's chief executive Michel Rollier told a newspaper Saturday.

The tyre factory will be in Resende, close to Rio de Janeiro, and will start production in 2013, Rollier told financial newspaper La Tribune.

The plant will allow Michelin to "triple its capacity" in the region, he said.

Rollier also said that Michelin planned an "investment project worth 800 million dollars (540 million euros)" for one of the company's Chinese factories.

He told French radio the company is now targeting China, India and Brazil, predicting markets in Western countries would not see substantial growth.

The news followed an announcement Monday by the tyre maker of plans to build a factory in India at a cost of 867 million dollars.

It also comes as the tyre maker is cutting more than 1,000 jobs in France.

Michelin reported in October its sales fell 10.9 percent in the third quarter on a 12-month comparison to 3.75 billion euros amid a slump in global demand.

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