PARIS (April 30)—Groupe Michelin will invest $59 million in the coming year to add capacity for passenger tires at its agricultural tire plant in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary, to satisfy growing demand for car tires in Eastern Europe.
The plant, originally built by Hungary's Taurus Rubber Co. Ltd. in 1979, will be converted to accommodate equipment for 2,500 passenger tires a day, Michelin said. The added capacity will create 200 to 300 jobs when it comes on stream in June 2005, according to the Hungarian Ministry for Economic Affairs and Transport.
Michelin bought 90-percent control of Taurus in late 1996 and invested $35 million in the plant in 1997 to expand ag tire capacity.