Pirelli reopening US tire plant on limited basis

Rome, Georgia — Pirelli Tire North America Inc. has restarted production at its passenger tire plant in Rome, ending a five-week hiatus that the company instituted as part of its effort to curb Covid-19 pandemic. 

The first workers were allowed back in at the end of last week, a Pirelli spokesperson said, to get the plant ready for manufacturing operations. 

The plant is operating currently at about 60% of capacity, with plans to ramp up steadily as demand rebounds.

The spokesperson stressed that the 18-year-old factory has been cleaned thoroughly and the company is following all health and safety protocols put forth by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention during the ramp-up period.

Pirelli's decision follows Georgia Governor Brian Kemp's lifting of Covid-related business restrictions on 30 April.

At full capacity, the plant employs 300 and is rated at 400,000 units per year of high-performance tires. Pirelli did not say at this time how many have returned to work.

Pirelli started scaling back production at the factory on 22 March in preparation for suspending production completely on March 29.

The spokesperson did not offer an update on Pirelli's pair of plants in Silao, Mexico.