ARDMORE, Okla. (June 28, 2010)—Michelin North America Inc.'s Ardmore tire plant celebrated its 40th year of producing passenger and light truck tires this past weekend with the unit's 1,700 employees and their families.
The facility was built in 1969-70 by Uniroyal Inc.—later Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co.—and was on the verge of closing 20 years later when Michelin acquired UGTC in 1990. A tornado destroyed the plant in May 1995, but Michelin invested $45 million to bring the facility back to full operation just two months later.
Overall, Michelin has invested more than $400 million over 20 years in the non-union Ardmore factory, which has expanded over the years to 1.5 million square feet of manufacturing operations and employs more than 1,700, the most of any Michelin plant in the U.S., according to the company. Capacity is listed as 33,000 units a day.