Ten years after Pirelli’s Silao, Mexico-based production facility was completed, the tire maker has outlined the start of a €114m (US$112.5m) investment to increase high-value production of high-performance and ultra-high-performance tires at the site. The work is scheduled to take place between 2022 and 2023.
The investment will be used to expand the production area by 16,000m2 to over 220,000m2 and improve the mixing process. Once expansion work is complete, Pirelli estimates that production at the Silao site will increase by over one million pieces per year, equating to a total of 8.5 million tires per year by 2025 when the facility is fully operational. Furthermore, 400 new jobs will be created at the site, bringing the total number of employees to 3,200 when fully operational.
The facility uses some of the most advanced production processes and Pirelli has recently implemented Industry 4.0 principles at the site. The tire maker is also adopting international standards that promote electricity and water savings and ensure waste from the plant is recycled. Pirelli has invested more than €800m (US$791m) in the Silao site to date.
“Today I am happy to say that we have achieved our goals and that the factory and the people who work there have exceeded our expectations,” said Marco Tronchetti Provera, executive vice chairman and CEO of Pirelli. “In fact, the Silao plant is one of the most technologically advanced in the group and will soon host a new Pirelli R&D center. As we have for 10 years, we continue to strongly believe in Silao and its people.”
“Mexico is a strategic area for Pirelli for all its activities in North and Central America and with this investment we will further increase Pirelli’s technological and industrial competitiveness,” said Claudio Zanardo, president and CEO of Pirelli North America. “I wish to thank all the people and the institutions who over these years have contributed to the growth of the Silao factory.”
