Sentury Tire is to build a smart tyre factory in As Pontes (La Coruña). According to the agreement reached with Endesa, the electricity company will provide the land as part of its plan to dismantle its thermal power station in the Galician municipality. Covering 26 hectares, the new plant will produce twelve million tyres a year when it starts operations.

The planned investment by the Chinese multinational is 477 million euros. The new factory will in addition create some 750 direct jobs. Through Enel Green Power España, Endesa will invest 229 million euros to install 191 megawatts of wind energy to supply the factory.

Research and development
The tyre manufacturer wants to equip the industrial complex with automated, computerised, intelligent and digital processes. It will also open an advanced research and development centre on the new site, which will occupy over twelve hectares. Construction will take around 36 months. The bulk of its production will be exported to the North American market, where Sentury Tire has a sales network.

The factory will in addition fulfil another of Endesa's objectives: to increase port activity in Ferrol, both for exporting its products and importing raw materials. It is estimated that the factory will generate annual traffic of around 65,000 containers, which will triple the current level at the port of Ferrol and create around one hundred jobs for transporting goods.

Attracting industrial businesses
The agreement is part of the As Pontes Futur-e plan for social and economic development implemented by Endesa since the Ministry of Ecological Transition announced the decision to close the thermal power plant. The aim is to facilitate a fair energy transition process and the creation of value in a region that is losing an important resource with the announced closure, the latter being immediate for two generators and deferred for the other two.

Sentury Tire's arrival is the outcome of a programme to attract industrial businesses. In this case, Endesa will transfer the 26 hectares it needs for its tyre factory to Sentury Tire, while committing to supply the factory with sustainable energy from several wind farms it will build in the area. Previously, the multinational had just three factories in China and Thailand, which are world leaders in automation, computerisation and intelligence technology.

Swapping coal for renewables
The closure of the As Pontes thermal power plant is also a new step in Endesa's decarbonisation journey, which it plans to complete by 2040. The electricity company will replace the 1,400 megawatts generated up to now in the Galician municipality by using coal with 1,300 megawatts of renewable energy, 191 megawatts of which will be ringfenced for operating the tyre plant.

The initiative includes a plan to decommission the plant, set up other industrial projects on its site and develop the logistical capabilities of the port of Ferrol, as well as a training plan for the people in the surrounding area. Some of the thermal power station’s employees will be relocated to other areas, while others will take part in the decommissioning, with plans offered for voluntary redundancies.

Other industrial projects
Endesa's development plan has been budgeted at almost 2.7 billion euros and provides for the creation of 1,361 jobs. The decommissioning of the plant will take around four years and will involve over 130 employees. Meanwhile, the planned wind projects will generate up to 2,300 jobs in their construction and 274 more over their estimated 25-year lifespan. In addition to the Sentury Tire plant, these parks will supply the new industrial projects planned, as well as Alcoa's facilities in order to support its return to aluminium production.

In addition to the tyre factory, the projects that have already been approved include the electricity company’s agreement with Ence, whereby it will cede 45 hectares of its former coal yard for a new bioplant where recycled natural fibres from recovered paper and cardboard will be reclaimed, processed and produced. The paper mill will invest 355 million euros and create 150 direct jobs and some 400 indirect jobs.

Endesa has also planned to create a strategic maintenance logistics centre in the area for its 120 Spanish wind farms, which will create 57 direct jobs. It will be supported by a wind circularity operations centre, which will also be the site for security and training activities.

^{Photo: Endesa and Sentury Tire}