Michelin growing non-tire industrial activities

Clermont-Ferrand, France – Michelin is making significant progress with efforts to bolster its non-tire industrial activities – through both organic growth and acquisitions. 

The business area delivered strong sales growth in the first half of 2023, helped largely by the performance of its conveyor belts and 'high tech' products businesses.

Over the first six months, non-tire sales rose 16.6% year-on-year to around €780 million, compared to 5.9% growth to €14.1 billion for group sales as a whole.

According to Michelin, revenues from the conveyor belts business expanded over the period: tracking, in particular, strong growth in the global mining industry.

In addition, the French group said its 'high-tech materials' business reported robust growth, particularly in engineered seals and precision polymers.

The ‘high-tech’ products, it added, have “a very high value-added positioning” in critical applications for the medical, energy, aerospace and defence industries.

In a separate presentation, Michelin said its Polymer Composite Solutions’ segment – comprising ‘sealing technologies’, ‘belting solutions’, ‘engineered fabrics & films’, and ‘engineered polymers’ – represents 5% of group sales.

Sales at the segment, it showed, are driven mainly by global and regional economic development and manufacturing industry output as well as R&D and public spending trends.

The presentation included reference to the pending acquisition of Paris-headquartered Flex Composite Group (FCG), described as a European leader in high-tech engineered fabrics & films.

Positioning Michelin as a “key player” in polymer composites, the addition of FCG would increase in the group’s 'high-tech materials' revenues by 20% versus 2022, to €1.3 billion.