Michelin boss visits Ballymena plant

By Patrick Raleigh, ERJ On-line news editor

Ballymena, Northern Ireland-Groupe Michelin's second-in-command René Zingraff visited the company's truck and bus tyres plant in Ballymena on 22 April. The 1200-employee site, which supplies truck and bus tyres mainly for export to North America, is celebrating 35 years of manufacturing.

During the day, Zingraff, who together with Edouard Michelin heads the French tyre group, met the management team and toured the Northern Ireland site. His visit culminated in a question & answer session with employees.

“Mr Zingraff congratulated us on our progress and on our safety and production performance,” said Graham Whitehurst, site manager at Ballymena, in a Michelin press statement.

(Pictured l to r: Kerry Hartline, production manager, Graham Whitehurst, site manager, René Zingraff, Groupe Michelin managing partner, and Peter Henry, production workshop.)