ITATIAIA, Brazil (Jan. 14, 2009)—Michelin plans to invest $172 million in the next two years to build a passenger tire plant in Itatiaia, its second factory in this city near Rio de Janeiro.
Scheduled to start up in the second quarter of 2011, the plant will serve the domestic market and export to other South American countries, a Michelin spokeswoman said.
Michelin will break ground for the plant, the company's third in Brazil, in the first quarter of 2009. When complete, the spokeswoman said, the facility will employ about 200. She declined to give a figure for the capacity of the facility, but said it will suit the demand of the market.