NORWOOD, N.C. (April 13, 2009)—Michelin North America Inc. plans to invest $11.3 million to expand its aviation tire operations in Norwood, N.C., adding 74 new jobs over the next 18 months.
The project includes the addition of aviation tire retreading operations to new tire manufacturing at the site. The expansion will begin in the second half of this year and should be completed by the end of 2011, the Greenville, S.C.-based tire maker said.
Michelin makes tires for commercial planes, military jets and the Space Shuttle at its Norwood site, and the addition of aviation tire retreading is the “perfect complement” to its current North Carolina operations, said Dick Wilkerson, the company's chairman and president.
“This expansion will improve the efficiency of our aviation tire business and help us serve our customers even better in the years to come,” he said.
The company will accept applications for the new positions as early as this month, with 50 of the new 74 jobs expected to be filled by the end of 2010. The 380,000-sq.-ft. Norwood facility employs 320 people.