Pirelli to Expand New Tire Plant in Romania

Pirelli SpA said it sees east and central European demand for tires growing by 10% per year and is planning to expand its newly launched plant in Slatina, Romania.

Production at the 170 million euro plant is expected to reach 2 million tires in 2007, after 300,000 this year, and against a total capacity of 4.5 million in high-performance tires, including for the winter, the company said.
Pirelli said it is convinced that central and eastern Europe represent the reference market for the coming years, including for high-performance tires. Its forecast is for annual demand growth of more than 10%.

Pirelli said it intends to boost the Slatina area with a logistics service platform and computer and commercial activities to support its own expansion in these countries.
Exports from the Romania plant are expected to exceed 90 percent of production, it said, noting that car manufacturers are growing their presence in the region.

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