Automotive News Canada - July 2020 - v2 - 21

* JULY 2020

Michelin Canada employs about 3,350
in its three plants in Nova Scotia - left
to right, Waterville, Bridgewater and
Pictou County - making the company
the province's largest private-sector
employer. F I L E P H O T O S

A BIAS FOR

TIRES

southwest of Halifax, has
1,225 workers making passenger-car, truck and utility-vehicle tires.
And Waterville, near the
Bay of Fundy, employs 1,400
who make truck, off-road,
military and earthmover
tires.

PROVINCIAL PEDIGREE

MICHELIN'S THREE
NOVA SCOTIA PLANTS
PRINCE EDWARD
ISLAND
Moncton
NEW
BRUNSWICK

y
Ba

NOVA SCOTIA
Halifax

PICTOU COUNTY

Michelin now has 19
725 employees
tire-producing plants in
North America, and it all
WATERVILLE
1,400 employees
started in Nova Scotia. The
province might seem like an
Atlantic Ocean
BRIDGEWATER
unlikely beachhead, given
1,225 employees
120 KILOMETRES
its distance from the heart
view with Automotive News Canada.
of auto assembly in southThe company planned to return to full
JEFF MELNYCHUK/AUTOMOTIVE NEWS CANADA
ern Ontario and
production in July.
Michigan.
Michelin exports about five
Michelin would build its third plant,
Mutch pointed to severmillion tires a year - about
at Waterville, and expand its two other
al factors in the province's
three quarters of the product
operations.
favour: a strong transportafrom Nova Scotia - to auto
"In those days, there was desperation network, with rail and sea
plants and aftermarket compation for jobs," said Stephen Kimber,
access; a high-quality educanies in the United States. The
a journalism professor at King's
tion system; a forward-thinkremainder are sold in Canada,
By DOUG FIRBY
College in Halifax who has followed the
ing government and economic
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS CANADA
mostly as replacement tires.
Michelin story for decades.
development association; and,
Although the bulk of the
"We needed companies like Michelin
"perhaps most importantly,
company's R&D is handled at
Being a
to come in and save us."
the quality of the people in the
WHEN CANADIANS THINK OF
Michelin's operations in South native of the
Though a critic of subsidies, Kimber
rural communities."
Nova Scotia, they likely picture quaint
Carolina, winter tires are "an
Maritimes,
said the company treats employees
Government assistance has
coastal towns, scenic rocky shorearea of expertise" for the Nova Michelin
well and pays wages that are "better
also helped. Although Mutch
lines and seafood, the province's No. 1
Scotia plants, Mutch said. Two Canada CEO
than most union jobs around here." As
export.
of those date back to 1971 and
Andrew Mutch declined to say how much
well, Mutch noted that the company
Few outsiders likely know about its
produce 85 per cent of the com- acknowledges financial assistance Michelin
topped up employment insurance benehas
received,
published
estisecond-largest export: tires. Yet after
pany's winter tires sold in
he is "very
fits, employee benefits and pension promates of subsidies from the
nearly half a century in Nova Scotia,
Canada and the northern U.S.
invested in
grams for the 500 workers idled during
local,
provincial
and
federal
tire maker Michelin remains the provstates.
the long-term
governments run into nine fig- the recent COVID-19 production cutince's largest private-sector employAbout 3,350 of Michelin
success of
back.
ures.
er, and Nova Scotia remains the only
Canada's 3,600 employees work Michelin in
"Since the beginning [of the pandemAnd in 1979, the provinCanadian province where Michelin
in Nova Scotia, Mutch said.
Nova Scotia."
ic], our first concern was the well-being
cial government passed what
tires are made.
FILE PHOTO
The balance are office staff,
of our employees, their families and our
is called "the Michelin bill,"
As a supplier to the largely stalled
mostly located in Montreal.
surrounding communities," he said.
an amendment to the Trade Union Act
auto industry during COVID-19, the
The Pictou County plant, on the
company mandated "temporary parprovince's north shore, has 725 workers that effectively ended a drive by the
LABOURERS OF LOVE
United Rubber Workers to organize
tial shutdowns" during the height of
mixing rubber, building tires and staffemployees. One day after the bill was
The loyal work force remains the
the pandemic, Michelin Canada CEO
ing the Canadian head office.
passed, the province announced that
biggest asset, Mutch said. "Today,
Andrew Mutch wrote in an email interThe Bridgewater plant, an hour
they're more involved in the business
than ever before ... [and] most of our
people still originate from the communities around our three plants," he said.
Mutch himself has local roots. Born
and raised in the Maritimes, he spent
NOVA SCOTIA LANDED MICHELIN
research published by Saint Mary's
Manuge decided to go straight to
more than 30 years with Michelin
through good luck, an aggressive sales
University in Halifax. "Central
the top and wrote to CEO Francois
before his appointment as president of
pitch and the value attached to a hardCanada was home to the type of
Michelin, extolling the province's
Michelin Canada in February.
working rural work force in a provindustry that Nova Scotia was seekvirtues, and asked for a meeting.
"I am very invested in the long-term
ince with relatively low
ing. Therefore, the govIn the letter, Manuge cited the
success of Michelin in Nova Scotia," he
unionization rates.
ernment realized it had to
province's proximity to Atlantic shipsaid.
Robert Manuge, who
offer incentives to industry ping lanes and pointed out that three
Second and third generations now
ran Industrial Estates
to counterbalance any negof the world's leading automakers
work in these plants. Mutch pointed to
Limited (IEL), the provative attributes of the prov- - Sweden's AB Volvo and Japan's
Felix Hachey, who joined in 1973, folince's economic developince in the eyes of potential Isuzu and Toyota - had assembly
lowed closely by his brother and sister.
ment agency in the 1960s,
investors."
plants in Nova Scotia. All since are
Now, two of Hachey's sons are managalways flew first class on
Typically, the IEL would gone.
ers and two of his grandchildren are
overseas flights so he could
build-to-order plants for
He also noted that IEL had
also in the work force.
meet CEOs.
new manufacturers, then
financed the move of 35 companies to
Robert Manuge,
"Michelin has become a key play"I wouldn't go any
lease them back at cost or
Nova Scotia.
Nova Scotia's
er in the province," Kimber said. "In
other way than first class," economic
mortgage them as the comThe letter was enticing enough
many ways, it's a good corporate citihe said in a video interthat Michelin agreed to meet. History
development chief pany occupied the premzen."
view before he died in 2014. in the 1960s, said ises, said Ralph Surette, a
does not record what was promised
he flew first class Nova Scotia journalist. It
The company benefits from employ"The chief executive
during negotiations, but whatever
ee innovations, Mutch said. Many are
officers are usually not sit- because that's
also sometimes made loans commitments were made sealed the
where you find
proprietary, helping the company stay
ting in economy."
for production lines.
deal.
the CEOs.
ahead of the competition.
To overcome regionOn a flight in 1967,
Reports from the time note that
"We have a strong heritage in Nova
al economic disparity in
Manuge met the wife of the French President Charles de Gaulle
Scotia, but we're not the same compathe have-not province, IEL could
head of Citroën Canada.
was furious with Nova Scotia's coup
ny we were 50 years ago. We need to be
"sponsor" companies to locate in
She told him Michelin was lookas he wanted Michelin to locate in
working every day to improve our comNova Scotia, according to academic.
ing to expand into North America.
Quebec. - ANC
petitiveness." - ANC

Michelin's North
American roots
began in Nova Scotia,
where it still operates
three plants

How a small province wooed big business: Tireless efforts

Automotive News Canada - July 2020 - v2

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