Page 42 - The Tyreman 2020 - 3
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international news
Apollo Vredestein to Specialise in High Performance Tyres at Netherlands Plant
Apollo Vredestein BV (AVBV) intends to specialise pro- duction at its plant in Enschede to a level where only high-performance Vredestein tyres will be produced at a
Within the current operating environment certain tyre sizes can no longer continue being produced in Enschede at a sustainable and competitive level. The company therefore intends to special- ise the plant towards high-value tyres and to secure a sustainable future in the Netherlands.
The strategic aim is to specialise the Enschede plant, to an extent where AVBV will only produce agricultural tyres and high value, niche segment passenger car tyres with a short production run. The plant in Enschede will become the centre of excellence for quality, innovation and production agility.
Aligning the plant to the intended special- ised and sustainable production level will unfortunately result in AVBV having to re- duce its workforce in the Netherlands by approximately 750 full-time employees, over a period of 24 months.
“The operating environment for AVBV and the entire tyre industry has changed - spite large investments made in recent years in modernising the plant, the fac- tory employees’ dedication and continu- - the accelerated market transformation and has required a strategic adaption of the site to assure it has a sustainable future in the long run”, said Benoit Ri- vallant, President of Apollo Vredestein in Europe.
and sustainability of the products cur-
rently produced in the Enschede Plant,
we regrettably could not arrive at a dif-
ferent conclusion. We are aware that our
employees and their families will face a
great deal of uncertainty as a result of
committed and dedicated workforce for many years, and that has
“As a responsible employer we will comply with all statutory obli- gations towards our employees. We will regularly inform our em- all necessary support and assistance.”
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