The Michelin plant in Lasarte (Gipuzkoa) marks a new milestone in 2024. Ninety years ago, the brand’s first tyre was manufactured within its walls in Spain. Today, it is the company's global benchmark for motorbike tyres and an innovation hub within the group, with a workforce of 490 people and a production capacity of up to 12,000 tonnes per year.

The Lasarte plant is the oldest of the four factories Michelin has in Spain today, in addition to the research and experience centre in Almeria. The site, which is close to the French border and has excellent transport links, was chosen in 1932, and the land was acquired to build the factory. Production began two years later, on 24 January 1934.

High-performance tyres
Between 1950 and 1980, tyres were produced for all uses except aircraft. It wasn’t until the next stage, in 2007, that the plant underwent an industrial reorganisation to specialise in producing motorbike tyres. Since 2007, it has been considered a global innovation hub within the group for manufacturing high-performance motorbike tyres for both road and track use.

The Gipuzkoa plant produces most of the high-performance radial motorbike tyres that the company markets worldwide. It exports over 90% of its production for sport, road and off-road motorbikes, mainly to Europe and America. It also manufactures the tyres used in many national and international championships, except MotoGP, although it has the capacity to add these to its portfolio.

Adaptation to Industry 5.0
Lasarte is also a benchmark for developing new fabrics, and has become a world supplier of large membranes. Michelin works in direct contact with leading motorbike manufacturers, collaborating to develop its products. It is also working on its adaptation to Industry 5.0, with the implementation of new technologies for the automation, robotisation and digitalisation of its processes.

The entire tyre production flow at this factory is fully automated today. This is a milestone to which the nearly 9,000 people who have worked at its facilities over the past 90 years have contributed. As a challenge to show its commitment to the environment and shared by all of the group's workplaces, the group has now set itself the goal of obtaining 40% of its raw materials from sustainable sources by 2030, and 100% by 2050.

^{Photo: Michelin}