Dundee could be set for a significant and welcome employment boost, with tyre manufacturer Michelin planning to create 140 jobs and returning to seven-day working at its plant in the city.
The benefits would result from a multi-million pound investment project at the Baldovie Road plant being implemented. If put in place the employment of the factory’s 750-strong workforce would also be safeguarded in the long term.
The investment project relies on financial support from the Scottish Government, and discussions between the two are in progress to find a way forward.
The move signals Michelin’s confidence not only in the UK part of its business but also in the Dundee plant. It also represents a potential welcome boost to Dundee’s economy bucking the trend of setbacks and closures affecting the city’s traditional industries in recent years.
Michelin’s Dundee factory manager John Reid said, “This is excellent news for everyone at Michelin Dundee and for the local community. I am really optimistic about the future and I am confident that our employees will continue to deliver first class results to show that the group’s confidence in us is justified.”
Dundee is Michelin’s only car tyre manufacturing factory in the UK and opened in 1972. It produces over seven million car tyres each year for export all over the world.
The potentially good news has been given to the workforce, and follows the firm’s success last year in improving operational performance following the economic crisis of 2009 and internal restructuring. The company said the drive to succeed was seen in the determination of the workforce to keep the factory operating by turning up for work during the severe weather in December.
It has launched a project to look at a multi-million pound investment at Baldovie Road which it said would safeguard employment in the longer term and secure 140 new jobs. The study launched by the Michelin Group will consider the installation of production machinery to enable Dundee to manufacture the latest generation of premium, environmentally-friendly car tyres and reinforce its position as a leading Scottish employer.
In seeking the investment, the Dundee site will be competing with other European plants. To strengthen its case Michelin has been working with the Scottish Government to explore options for regional selective assistance grant support, which will be key in the firm’s final decision-making process.
To keep pace with growing market demands for existing products, the plant aims to increase its output considerably in the next 12 to 18 months. In order to achieve the increase in production, Michelin would create around 140 new jobs and change to continuous seven-day working from the current six day per week operation.
The increase in jobs would be appreciated by the Unite trade union, and it is in discussion with the company over changes in working patterns.
Almost a quarter of the new posts would be in engineering disciplines.