Prometeon to invest €100m in Turkish plant

Istanbul, Turkey – Prometeon Tyre Group, the former Pirelli industrial tires unit, is investing 580 million Turkish liras (€110.7 million) in its Izmit, Turkey production plant over the next two years to increase production capacity and upgrade technology.

The licensed manufacturer of Pirelli-branded truck, bus, agro and off-the-road tires, said the investment through to 2020 would raise production capacity by 75% compared to the 2017 baseline.

Export to international markets will also double compared to current levels, the Italian tiremaker said in a 6 Nov statement.

“Turkey is the premium factory for Europe - both as OE premium and replacement,” noted Gregorio Borgo, chief operating officer of Prometeon Tyre Group.

The new investment, said Borgo, will increase the production capacity in line with the growth trend within the European as well as the Middle East & Africa regions (MEA).

Turkey is Prometeon’s management base for the MEA, Russia and CIS regions, covering 75 countries and representing one of the company’s four  main regions.

Almost one third of the group’s annual turnover is realised in the region managed by the Turkey office, Borgo added.

Prometeon exports more than 50% of tires manufactured in Turkey.

The Prometeon Tyre Group was part of the Italian tiremaker Pirelli Group until March 2017. The company was spun off as part of Pirelli's strategy to relaunch as a consumer tire manufacturer.