Michelin Expands Capacity in Brazil Plant to Produce Agricultural Tires

Group Michelin has revealed that it is ramping up capacity at its plant in Campo Grande, Brazil to include radial agricultural tires. This will serve to cater to growing demand in the Brazilian market for radial agricultural tires, in view of the fact that Brazil has the largest area of arable land in the world and agriculture accounts for 22 per cent of the country’s GNP.

The French tire manufacturer’s president for South America, Nour Bouhassoun, said that the company would be focusing increasingly on the agricultural sector in the coming years. According to Emmanuel Ladent, the global head of Michelin’s agricultural pision unlike Europe where 87 per cent of the agricultural tires sold are radial, in Brazil, only about 6 percent of agricultural tires sold are radial. This is why Michelin is planning to increase its capacity in order to consolidate its position as a market leader in the Brazilian agricultural radial tires.

The Campo Grande plant which was set up 35 years ago currently specializes in tires for cars as well as those for light and medium trucks. When it expands capacity, Michelin will concentrate on its Ultraflex IF and VF ranges, which cause minimal levels of soil-compaction.

A recent study conducted by the British University Harper Adams found that the crop yield increases by 4 per cent when agricultural machines used in cultivation use tires with increased flexion like the Ultraflex tire instead of radial tires.