31 Mar 2006
Gravatai, Brazil--Pirelli & C. SpA has inaugurated production of radial truck and bus tyres at its newest plant, in Gravatai, which will supply primarily Brazil and other South American markets.
Pirelli invested $50 million to add the truck tyre capacity to its existing motorcycle tyre plant in Gravatai, in the Rio Grande do Sul region.
The new production unit, rated at 12 000 tonnes of tyres a year, covers 6 million square feet and requires about 500 employees. The existing 30-year-old plant employs 1500 and turns out 64 000 tons of products a year.
This is Pirelli's sixth truck tyre plant. The others are in Settimo Torinese, Italy; Izmit, Turkey; Alexandria, Egypt; Yanzhou, China, and Santo Andre, Brazil.
Commercial vehicle tyres account for 31 percent of Pirelli's tyre division sales.
From Rubber & Plastics News (A Crain publication)
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