Rise and fall of showpiece tyre plant

MICHELIN’S history in Dundee has taken many twists and turns since the first tyre was produced in November 1972.

At the time, it was Scotland’s only manufacturing plant of its kind but the firm later opened another site in Aberdeen, which closed in 1986.

The French manufacturing giant settled on farmland near Baldovie after touring a number of potential locations in the UK.

When Michelin Dundee was established, 400 workers were taken on and the numbers increased as the facility expanded.

Within four years of the first tyre being made, the staff had produced five million more.

At the time the factory opened, the city’s industries were still booming with Michelin becoming one of the major employers alongside NCR and Timex.

The factory offered a strong and stable future for its workers, until 2009 when global revenue fell.

The company cut hours and reduced production rather than lay off any of its now 800-strong workforce.

Although the factory came close to being mothballed towards the turn of the century, it was ultimately granted a reprieve by the executive board in Clermont-Ferrand in France.

In 2016, the Queen opened a huge extension which included new machinery and a 215,278 sq ft warehouse, boosting Michelin’s production capacity by 30% .

At the time bosses said it would secure employment in the city “for decades to come”. Despite their hopes, job security lasted only a few years.

In November 2018, it was announced that production would cease by mid-2020.

It was a massive blow to almost 900 employees who worked at the site, with many having been there for decades.

The company claimed the closure was due to the plant being out of date, with conversion not being financially viable amid falling demand for the smaller tyres the factory produced.

Lord Provost William Fitzgerald was presented with the first tyre produced at the Michelin factory by manager Thomas Ferguson.