Manufacturing · Profile from Manufacturing Research Companion: Companies, Strategic Moves, and Technical Studies
Michelin
The Clermont-Ferrand tyre maker, founded by the brothers André and Édouard Michelin in 1889 (from memory, verify), that patented the steel-belted radial tyre in 1946 (from memory, verify the filing year), built its first modern US plants around Greenville, South Carolina from 1975 (from memory, verify), and bought Uniroyal Goodrich in 1990 (~$1.5bn including debt, agreed Sep 1989, completed May 1990 — equal to the PE knowledge base). Michelin is the clearest case in this knowledge base of process technology as a lasting product advantage: a better way of building a tyre, protected for decades by manufacturing know-how rather than patents, that lets it charge more than Goodyear and Bridgestone for a product most buyers never look at. It is also a case of what happens to that advantage when plants run empty. In 2025 sales were ~€26.0bn (−4.4% at current exchange rates) and segment operating income was ~€2.9bn at constant exchange rates (10.9% of sales), "dragged down by low rates of capacity utilization" (company and Tyrepress, Feb 2026). It closed German plants (announced 2023, from memory, verify), Cholet and Vannes in France (announced 5 Nov 2024, 1,254 employees), and on 25 Jun 2026 said it would wind down BFGoodrich production at Tuscaloosa, Alabama by the end of 2028 (~1,200 jobs, reported) and consolidate it at Fort Wayne, Indiana.
At a glance
- Founded
- Michelin et Cie, Clermont-Ferrand, France, 1889, by André and Édouard Michelin (from memory, verify); the family firm grew out of a rubber business founded earlier in the century (from memory, verify)
- Headquarters
- Clermont-Ferrand, France; North American headquarters in Greenville, South Carolina (from memory, verify)
- Ownership / structure
- Listed on Euronext Paris as Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin, a société en commandite par actions (partnership limited by shares): managing partners run the company and cannot easily be removed by shareholders (from memory, verify the current managing-partner arrangements). The structure has long protected management from takeover and activist pressure
- Leadership (2026)
- Florent Menegaux, Managing Chairman (named in the H1 2026 release, which does not use the title CEO); Managing Chairman since 2019 (from memory, verify)
- Segments (2025)
- Automotive and Two-Wheel (passenger car, light truck, motorcycle; Consumer) sales ~€14.3bn, margin ~11.7%; Road Transportation sales ~€6.0bn, margin ~4.7%; Specialties (mining, agriculture, aircraft, off-road, conveyor belts and polymer composites) sales ~€5.7bn, margin ~13.5% (one outlet's figures, Tire Review, Feb 2026 — verify against the annual report)
- Scale
- 2025: sales ~€26.0bn (−1.4% at constant exchange rates; −4.4% reported); segment operating income ~€2.9bn at constant exchange rates (10.9%) — Tire Review gives €2.719bn (10.5%), most likely at current rates (unreconciled); net income ~€1.7bn (−12%); dividend €1.38 proposed; €2bn buyback planned for 2026–28 (company via press, Feb 2026). H1 2026: revenue €12,687m (−2.6% reported, +0.5% at constant FX); segment operating income €1,446m (11.4%); net income €766m; free cash flow before M&A €282m; net debt €4,547m (gearing 26.0%) (company release, 27 Jul 2026). Nine months 2026: sales
- Plants (US, selected)
- Fort Wayne, Indiana (BFGoodrich; to take "nearly all" BFGoodrich production) and Tuscaloosa, Alabama (BFGoodrich; closing by end-2028) — both confirmed by the Jun 2026 announcement. From memory, verify: several South Carolina plants (Greenville, Spartanburg, Lexington, Anderson), Ardmore, Oklahoma, and the Nova Scotia plants in Canada. The H1 2026 release also refers to restructuring provisions at an Emporia site in the US (location and activity, verify)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- The radial tyre (1946); Greenville and the US plant network (1975–); Uniroyal Goodrich (1989–90); record profits and the 1999 job cuts; 3D printing and AddUp (2015–); Camso and Fenner — growth beyond tyres (2018); the European closures (2023–24); Tuscaloosa and the BFGoodrich consolidation (2026)
8 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1946
Radial Tyre Patent and the Michelin X
Technology bet / product and process launch
1975
Greenville and the US Plant Network
New plants (greenfield) / market entry by local production
1990
Uniroyal Goodrich Acquisition
Acquisition (from a private-equity owner)
1999
Record Profits and the Clermont Ferrand Job Cuts
Restructuring / labour (a political failure in communication)
2015
AddUp and the 3D Printing Bet
Joint venture / technology bet (process technology sold to others)
2018
Camso and Fenner Beyond Tyres
Acquisitions / diversification into adjacent engineered-polymer products
2023
European Closures Germany Cholet and Vannes
Footprint consolidation (plant closures)
2026
Tuscaloosa Closure and BFGoodrich Consolidation
Footprint consolidation (US plant closure)