Michelin, le géant clermontois !

« A Better Way Forward »

Michelin is a French tire manufacturer which is based in the city where we’re studying, Clermont-Ferrand. It is considered as one of the three largest tire manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone in Japan and Goodyear in the US.

The company is well-known worldwide mostly thanks to its mascot, Bibendum, also known as the Michelin Man. This character is followed by the following slogan, « A better way forward ».

Created back in 1889, when the Michelin brothers, André and Édouard, began the development of modern transport solutions.

But the firm isn’t just a tire manufacturer. Actually, Michelin is also notable for its travel guide, its roadmaps but also its Michelin stars which marks the restaurants on their cooking.

Michelin is also famous for some of its inventions such as the removable tire and the pneurail, which is used by the trains.

In Clermont, we have a well-known rugby team with a lot of good players! The stadium where they’re playing is also owned by Michelin.

 

Now, here’s a few of their most significant inventions:

1899: The « Jamais Contente » is the very first car to reach 62 miles. It’s equipped with Michelin tires.

 1895: The Michelin brothers built their own car called « L’éclair » and are using it for the Paris-Bordeaux race in order to 
prove the tire efficiency.The car name is referring to the very
 instable trajectory of the car. It was so out of control that none of the Michelin employees volunteered to drive it. The Michelin brother ended up driving it themselves!!

No, it’s not a BMX slope!  It’s a test track for the 

Michelin tires!

 Michelin in Europe…

Michelin is very present worldwide like in the US or in Asia, but the company occupies an important place in Europe. In fact, Michelin owns several factories in 10 different European countries: France, the UK, Spain, Italy, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Romania and Russia.

This massive industry is hiring 38 794 employees!

Michelin was officially considered as one of the strongest company in Europe.

 Michelin is settled in the United Kingdom for more than 100 years, and is the first producer of tires of the country. The unexpected decision in June of British voters to leave the European Union has had an important impact on the company. Actually, the firm has raised prices in Britain to tread on the creation of a black market in tires in response to a falling pound following the Brexit vote.

In the future, the logistic network of Michelin in Italy will be transformed. The stores in Turin and Rome will be modernized to serve the whole country. Also, the factory in Dundee (UK) will benefit from 69 million of euros of investment, in order to develop it towards an international production.

The European Union, with its 500 million of inhabitants, is the 1^st point of sale (43%).