17 Nov 2005
Anderson, South Carolina--Michelin North America Inc. plans to invest $80 million over six years in two rubber materials plants in South Carolina to upgrade equipment and expand capacity.
The investment was made public Nov. 15 at an Anderson County Council meeting, where the panel approved extending a tax agreement and infrastructure credit, first instituted in 1996, through 2017.
The investment will be in the firm's Sandy Springs semi-finished products facility and Starr rubber compounding factory. Michelin plans to explain in more detail its expansion plans Nov. 28 at a press conference at the Starr plant.
According to documents presented to the county council, the expansion/upgrade will create about 26 jobs, although a Michelin spokesman declined to confirm the exact number.
The 2500-sq.-m. Starr factory opened in 2001 at a cost of about $90 million. It was part of a $400 million investment package in several plants Michelin disclosed in 1999. At that time, Michelin said it would consider doubling the size of the facility when sales and the economy warranted it. Employment there was about 100 at startup.
The 200 000-sq.-m. Sandy Springs plant also houses rubber processing operations and until recently was the site of steel cord processing.
From Rubber & Plastics News (A Crain publication)
Story from Anderson County Independent Mail -- requires free registration
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