Michelin’s Bourges Site Unveils 5-Year Plan for Aircraft Tire Market Growth and Welcomes Innovative Production Activities

Michelin’s Bourges Site Unveils 5-Year Plan for Aircraft Tire Market Growth and Welcomes Innovative Production Activities

(IN BRIEF) Michelin’s Bourges site, a key player in the aircraft tire market, has announced a 5-year action plan to enhance its performance. The plan focuses on innovation, efficiency, and addressing organizational challenges posed by recent growth. It involves collaboration with employees and covers various aspects of operations, such as management quality, safety culture, training, and more. The site plans to create around a hundred jobs by integrating the production activities of Michelin Inflatable Solutions, a startup specializing in ultra-light inflatable structures with applications in aviation and defense.

(PRESS RELEASE) PARIS, 27-Oct-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — A benchmark plant on the aircraft tire market, Michelin’s Bourges site, the flag bearer of Michelin’s aeronautical ambitions, is presenting an ambitious, 5-year action plan.

An industrial 5-year project, combining innovation and performance

Michelin’s Bourges site has witnessed significant growth in production over the last two years. This development has resulted in organizational constraints linked to integrating new activities, such as the mounted assemblies for Europe (Trucks– Civil Engineering – Subway), and the recruitment and training of almost 240 employees on permanent contracts in 2022 and 2023.

To respond to these challenges, the site undertook a collaborative project with all of the site’s employees, based on an overall assessment shared with employees and staff representatives. Building on these shared indicators, there was fresh impetus for the site, taking into account fundamental issues connected with its running, in order to enhance performance.

10 working groups were set up to address the numerous topics: management quality, safety culture, training, product quality, well-being in the workplace, projects and innovation, economic performance, environmental impact, working environment and client reception.

This collective approach led to the co-construction of an ambitious 5-year plan, intended to enhance the operational functioning and overall performance of the Bourges plant, the Group’s only aeronautical facility in Europe.

The plant has 643 permanent employees and produces approximately 130,000 tires per year for civil, military and business aviation. The site is poised to produce the Michelin Air X SKY LIGHT, a new generation aircraft tire that is lighter and longer lasting and the result of several breakthrough innovations. The Bourges plant’s portfolio includes the most discerning clients, including the French Air and Space Force, The United States Air Force, Airbus, Dassault, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Air France, Lufthansa, Easyjet, Emirates, Avioparts and Takhzeen Aerospace.

The installation of Michelin Inflatable Solutions*: the planned creation of around a hundred jobs.

Beyond tire production activities, the Bourges site is expanding its activities by welcoming Michelin Inflatable Solutions*, a subsidiary 100% owned by the Michelin Group.

Announced during celebrations to mark the site’s 70th anniversary in November 2022, the installation of some of the Michelin Inflatable Solutions* production teams is taking shape. 3 million Euros have already been invested to create an initial 2,000m2 workshop, which will be ready for operations in January 2024, with 30 employees composing the first team.

Michelin Inflatable Solutions’* involvement in the aviation and defense ecosystem and a geographical situation offering proximity with the teams based in Trappes –the company’s historic headquarters – and Michelin’s R&D teams in ClermontFerrand, will enable it to develop on these high added value markets. Eventually, the activities of Michelin Inflatable Solutions* should cover 6,000m2 – with the aim of creating around a hundred jobs.

About Michelin
Michelin, the leading mobility company, is dedicated to sustainably enhancing its clients’ mobility; designing and distributing the most suitable tires, services, and solutions for its clients’ needs; providing digital services, maps, and guides to help enrich trips and travels and make them unique experiences; and developing high-technology materials that serve a variety of industries. Headquartered in Clermont Ferrand, France, Michelin is present in 175 countries, has 132,200 employees and operates 67 tire production facilities which together produced around 167 million tires in 2022. (www.michelin.com)

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SOURCE: MICHELIN