Groupe Michelin CEO endorses tire pressure monitoring

GREENVILLE, S.C. (June 18)—The new CEO of Groupe Michelin told a group of foreign journalists in Greenville that tire pressure monitoring devices are an excellent idea. "There has been a big wake-up about tire safety in the United States," said Edouard Michelin, 35, about the federal requirement beginning in November 2003. "And therefore I think it's time to move to a precise device to take care of tire pressure." Michelin also said his company is "on track" with its plan to eliminate 2,000 jobs by December 2003, having cut 500 in 2001, and that it will continue its $100-million-plus annual investment in North American operations. Michelin was in Greenville to meet with the company's North American management, while the journalists came to the U.S. to tour a Phelps Dodge Corp. copper mine and Michelin's Lexington, S.C., mining tire facility.