On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Silao factory in Mexica, tyre maker Pirelli has started a EUR114-million investment – already envisaged in the 2021-2022 | 2025 industrial plan. The construction – planned for the two-year period 2022/2023 – is aimed at further increasing production at the Mexican site. The investment confirms the strategic importance of the plant and will see an increase in production capacity of over 1 million pieces for a total of 8.5 million tyres by 2025 when fully operational (from 7.2 million at the end of 2022). With an expansion of the production area of 16,000 sq m to over 220,000 and further improvement of the mix, the investment will also create of 400 new jobs for a total of 3,200 employees when fully operational.
“The Silao plant has made an important contribution to the success of Pirelli’s global strategy of becoming the leader in the high value segment. When we chose Silao, and the Guanajuato region, as the location for a new plant 10 years ago, our expectations were very high. I am happy to say that we have achieved our goals and that the factory and the people who work there have exceeded our expectations. In fact, the Silao plant is one of the most technologically advanced in the Group and will soon host a new Pirelli R&D Centre. As we have for 10 years, we continue to strongly believe in Silao and its people,” said Marco Tronchetti Provera, Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of Pirelli.
“Mexico is a strategic area for Pirelli for all its activities in North and Central America and with this investment we will further increase Pirelli’s technological and industrial competitiveness. I wish to thank all the people and the institutions, who over these years have contributed to the growth of the Silao factory,” said Claudio Zanardo, President/CEO of Pirelli North America.”
Located within the Silao “Puerto Interior” industrial hub, in the state of Guanajuato, one of Mexico’s major logistics centres and key economic and technology hubs, Pirelli inaugurated the plant in 2012 to serve the local and North American markets.
In the last ten years, the Silao plant has grown at a remarkable speed, progressing from a capacity of around 1.5 million tyres and a staff of 300 people at the end of 2012 to a capacity of 7.2 million tyres at the end of 2022 and around 2,800 employees. Its production is focused on producing high performance and ultra-high performance tyres for passenger cars, electric vehicles, SUVs and light trucks.
The Mexican plant has always delivered the most innovative Pirelli solutions, like Cyber tyre, PNCS (Pirelli Noise Cancelling System), and RFID writing, aimed at tracking tyres to provide product information to the entire logistics chain.
Equipped with the group’s most advanced production processes, in recent years the Mexican factory has implemented the principles of Industry 4.0, in addition to a growing engagement with environmental care, adopting international standards that promote electricity and water savings, and ensure the recycling of waste from the plant.
The commitment announced brings Pirelli’s investment in the Mexican plant since its foundation to more than EUR800 million and follows the announcement in May 2022 of the creation of the Italian company’s first R&D Centre in Mexico, which is in addition to the 13 existing centres around the world.
Pirelli annually invests around 6% of its revenue from high value products in R&D and has over 6,700 patents.