Michelin North America (MNA) Inc. will close its C3M automated manufacturing facility in Reno, Nev., and move production from there to its Greenville, S.C., C3M plant.
The five-year-old Reno plant will close May 31, 2002.
MNA will make a $5 million capital investment in the Greenville factory over the next two years and will create 60 new jobs as part of the process.
MNA's warehouse next to the Reno complex will not be affected by the production transfer.
"The consolidation will allow Michelin to take advantage of economies of scale for long-term growth and to more fully address the growth potential in the high performance and SUV segments of the tire market," say MNA officials.
MNA's Reno plant can build 5,000 passenger tires a day at top capacity, according to Modern Tire Dealer research. The tiremaker's Greenville shop also can produce 5,000 car tires a day.
