Michelin Tamilnadu

Updated on : 08 Feb 2012

The manufacturing facility:

Michelin Group and Tamil Nadu government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Michelin’s tyre manufacturing plant, 50 km north of Chennai at SIPCOT Thervoy Kandigai Industrial Park in Thiruvallur district. With a commitment of an investment of Rs.4,000 crores in 7 years the plant will be spread over an area of 290 acres and will absorb, minimum, 1,500 workers. Michelin is one of the several companies which will come up at SIPCOT Thervoy Kandigai Industrial Park. Along with Michelin, some of these neighboring companies have also started their construction work on this park.

With the accelerating development of road and highways infrastructure and the number of ongoing road development projects, India is on course to offer customers the opportunity to extract the full value from radial tyres. The Company believes that India holds tremendous potential for the Michelin Group in terms of establishing a world class manufacturing facility.
The manufacturing facility will focus first on a range of Radial Truck/Bus tyres. The plant will start operations in 2012 and will focus on the growing Indian market.

From Europe to the Americas to Asia, every Michelin manufacturing plant around the world follows the same uncompromising code of quality and environment protection. Michelin is a major player in the area of better mobility and is known for its spirit of innovation.

Aerial view of Thiruvallur District and SIPCOT Thervoy Kandigai Industrial Park

Project Progress update:

Recruitment:

As on 6th February 2012, 620 employees are recruited. 221 are undergoing training in Michelin facilities situated across the globe. Additionally, all junior staffs are undergoing training at CPAT-TVS polytechnic at Vanagaram, Chennai, GEEDEE Technical training Institute and DG Charities in Coimbatore.

Site Progress:

The construction of the boundary wall and fence around the site is complete and the levelling of the ground is complete as well. The main buildings at the site are at various stages. The Highest building at site is as high as 18.3 meters. Silos installation has also started. 10 silos have been installed. Roof struss installation is under progress for various buildings. The machine foundations are also being laid for priority buildings. Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing preparation is under progress for some buildings. Other buildings are at stages of Concrete work, footings, excavation, wall construction etc. The main Power Transformer for Phase 1 has been installed and main station structure work is under progress.

The Michelin Training Centre, the first building to be operational on the site, was launched on 30th May, 2011. The main focus of this training facility is to offer training to both: Michelin employees and the local community surrounding the site. Apart from technical and language training to its own staff, the facility conducts training in soft and technical skills to help improve employment opportunities of the villagers, in general.

English language training, the first program designed for the community, commenced on 20th of July and completed. The second batch of English training has also been completed. Michelin has conducted various other training to enhance the skills of the community and to enhance employability.

The site office was inaugurated on the 7th of September 2011 giving proper office facilities to enhance better working environment for the employees.

Since August 2010, from the start of construction of the site boundary wall and fence to the current construction stage of the factory, Michelin has engaged the villagers who contributed more than 450000 man-days. Michelin has provided employment for villagers from 34 near-by villages and towns for its construction work.

Michelin Scholarship:

Michelin in association with Campus France is providing Scholarship programs for Master’s degree in France. Some details are below

Eligibility: B.E/B.Tech (12+4). (Final year students may apply) max : 28 years old (Chemical, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Production).[No GRE / TOEFL required ; French language knowledge not required at the time of application]

Programme Duration /Academic Year: 2 years: Intake in September 2012 till June 2014

Scholarship Details: 20 000 - 25 000 Euros (ALL EXPENSES COVERED),social and Medical insurance cover by MAEE, Status of French government scholarship, other related advantages such as simplified visa procedure.

Valid only for the following Universities:

IFMA - http://www.ifma.fr/
ENSCCF - http://www.ensccf.fr/

Download application from Campus France portal www.inde.campusfrance.org; Mail the following required documents with a completed / filled application form at scholarship.france@gmail.com

Sustainable Mobility and Development Initiatives:

Taking essence from its global vision for ‘Sustainable Mobility’, Michelin in Tamil Nadu has been participating in events that promote ‘Sustainable Mobility and Development’.

Planting Sampling at Michelin Site:

As a part of on-going initiative towards preserving the environment, Michelin has started planting saplings at its industrial site. The saplings are planted inside the manufacturing facility as part of the groups ‘Green Factory’ concept. 1100 sampling have been planted inside the Industrial site till date

Sponsoring CII’s study to estimate Carbon Footprint of Tamil Nadu:

In response to a scientific consensus linking Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from human activities to global climate change, many local governments globally are looking inwards to identify opportunities to reduce GHG emissions not only from their communities, but also within their own operations. Local governments could inventory the emissions from their operations in order to track their performance and ensure that their actions reduce GHG emissions.

In the context of Government of India’s recent international commitment of reducing its GHG Emission intensity of GDP by 20-25% between 2005 and 2020, it has now become imperative for all states in the country to individually chalk out their action plan to achieve this target within their jurisdiction to help the country as a whole achieve its objectives.
Michelin India Tamilnadu Tyres Pvt. Ltd. has sponsored CII’s study to estimate Carbon footprint of Tamil Nadu.

The purpose of this study is to:
• Enable the state of Tamil Nadu to develop emissions inventories following internationally
• Recognized GHG accounting and reporting principles with detailed attention to the unique
• context of local government operations
• Develop a carbon footprint to serve as a basis towards state’s climate goals
• Estimate current carbon emissions and project emissions profile by 2020 in BAU situation
• Identify mechanisms for intervention for the state to reduce carbon intensity by 20% by 2020 across various sectors – industry, transport, etc
• Develop a Low carbon roadmap for Tamil Nadu to the year 2020 help the country as a whole achieve its objectives.

CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility):

Socio-economic Survey

Michelin was one of the sponsors for the household socio-economic survey conducted by FORRAD (Foundation for Rural Recovery and Development) in 31 villages on the periphery of the site. The survey collected empirical data on education, occupation, skills, income, expenditure, indebtedness and other indicators of socio-economic wellbeing.

The preliminary findings are now available on FORRAD’s website http://www.forrad.org. The survey findings have been translated into Tamil as well and uploaded on FORRAD’s website.
Based on these findings, Michelin has devised its mid-term and long-term strategy for CSR.

Enhancing Employability:

Disability Awareness Camp:

Michelin India organized one day disability awareness program with the support of Ability Foundation on 04 February 2012 at Government middle school in Soolaimeni village. More than 150 People with different kind of disabilities participated in the program. The focus of the program was to create awareness on disability issues, rights, attitudes and opportunities. The participants and their family members were given guidance and counseling for enhancing self-esteem and vocational skills of people with disability.

Mr. Joseph Ravi, District Disability Rehabilitation Officer participated in the camp and disseminated information on state government schemes and facilities available to people with disabilities. He had personally interviewed all eligible participants and guided them on how to obtain benefits of different government schemes.

Dr. Krishna Chandra, Deputy Director of Employment, Vocational Rehabilitation for Handicapped, disseminated information on vocational training opportunities available through the central government schemes. Staff team of Ability foundation counseled people with disability on employment opportunities.

This program created awareness on the hidden talents of people with disability and how to motivate them to bring out the talents. A profile of people with disability in the vicinity of Michelin factory was created so as to be better able to plan follow-up programs. 15 Michelin staff voluntarily participated and helped out people with disability during the awareness program.

Hiring local talent:

With the focus on promoting diversity the Company recently held a recruitment drive. This drive was essentially conducted with the objective of hiring local talent. Out of the 16 shortlisted candidates 3 of them have been offered employment at Michelin

Spoken English Training:

The first Michelin sponsored English training program for the community was successfully completed on 18th August 2011.The training program was conducted by VETA, a premier academy for teaching spoken English. This program was aimed to increase the employability of the deserving youth in surrounding community. Certificates were provided from the institute on successful completion of the program. 40 locals had enrolled for the program, which saw participation of residents of Kannankottai, Pallavakkam, Sengarai, Thandalam, Thervoy Kandigai and Vannankuppam.

The second batch of English Training was completed on 14th October 2011. 26 students were registered and trained. 6 villages participated in this program. Out of the 26, 6 of the trainees are from Thervoy and more than 50% are female trainees. The other villages which participated in this program are Lachivakkam, Soolaimeni, Kannankottai, Palavakkam and Sengarai

To help the students continue their English speaking skills, Michelin has organized follow up sessions on a weekly basis. These sessions are conducted by Michelin Employees. Also, from the batch of students who have attended English Training, 3 of them have been offered appointment letter for the post of Operator trainee.

Driving training for women:

Michelin had conducted a drive for women to identify and shortlist candidates for Driving Training. The drive took place on the 15th of December 2011 at the Michelin Manufacturing Site. 24 women showed willingness and participated in the drive. 14 of them have been shortlisted for further process for the training. Driving License will be provided for candidates on successful completion. Based on their performance, suitable candidates will be given Fork Lift operator Training for employment at Michelin

Bakery Training:

The scheduled training for the community on preparation of Bakery products was completed on 15th Nov 2011. This would enable people from the community to set up small bakery shops and run small business. Michelin again focuses on improving the employability of its community. 21 people from the villages participated and benefited from the training program. This program was conducted in association with Urban Horticulture Development Centre

Enhancing Livelihood:

Bio-Gas Initiative:

Michelin, under the umbrella of ‘Sustainability Development’ Initiatives has started a new Initiative on Bio Gas which will benefit the 31 villages around the Manufacturing plant. During the first phase of this Initiative, 100 Bio-Gas Units will be installed in these villages. Out of these 75 of them will be 2 cubic units and 25 of them will be 3 cubic units. Based on the analysis of the first phase, Michelin will plan for the second phase of Installations

Restoration of irrigation channels:

Many of the irrigation channels in the area are heavily silted, weeded up, and encroached upon and are therefore unusable. This has led to the fields being left fallow because of the shortage of water and the proliferation of tubewells that exploit groundwater. Nearly 30 km of irrigation channels in Mukarambakkam, Karadiputhur, Kanankottai, and Sengarai have been restored .The work was undertaken manually by the local people. The work was monitored and measured by a local team and supervised by FORRAD and Action for Food Production (AFPRO) staff.

Over 500 families have benefitted from the restoration of these channels. The channels at Karadiputhur and Mukarampakkam have been maintained using MNREGA.

Table: Irrigation channels restored and employment generated
Village	Length of irrigation channel desilted (metres)	Employment generated (man days)*
Mukarampakkam	8722	1457
Karadiputhur	5062	717
Kanankottai	1874	414
Sengarai	13610	1908
Total	29268	3950

Water testing:

36 sources - a random sampling of open lakes, open wells and tube wells have been tested using field water testing kits. The tests were conducted by AFPRO staff using the Jal Tara kits developed by Development Alternatives. The water was tested for the following parameters, PH, TDS, Temperature, Faecal Coliform, Fluoride, Dissolved oxygen, Residual Chlorine, Phosphorous, Nitrate, Iron, Hardness, Chloride, Ammonia and Turbidity.

Local FORRAD volunteers were given training in the use of these kits. With the exception of three sources, most of the water was subject to bacteriological contamination. A plan is now being put into place to:
1. Create awareness about the harmfulness of bacteriological contamination
2. Clear and cover open wells
3. Keep the area and drainage around the drinking water sources clean.

These field tests are still in process and FORRAD will cover three sources each in all of the 31 villages of its project area. Detailed lab tests have been conducted on a select sample of the sources to serve as a baseline.

All selected sources have been coded and will be tested thrice a year, in the pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon season. Local people will conduct the tests and disseminate the results locally. Results of the tests conducted so far are available on the FORRAD’s website (http://www.forrad.org/).

Based on these findings, a small brochure will be prepared on the causes and impact of contamination. It would also contain recommendations on how to prevent the contamination and to prevent the same at source. These will be circulated among the users of these water bodies and relevant Panchayath officials. The results are also being shared with the concerned PHC doctors and other Health officials

Availing of Government benefits and subsidies:

The household socio-economic survey done by FORRAD has produced lists of persons living in conditions of extreme poverty, eligible for Government pensions and subsidies but not receiving them. Starting with the persons eligible for old age pension and widows, FORRAD staff have, in the past three months assisted 200 persons in gathering the documentation and certifications required and submitting their applications to the relevant office. It is expected that the applications will be processed after the local panchayat elections. This work is ongoing and the volunteers will systematically cover all the persons eligible for assistance. 6 of the persons who have submitted the applications for Old Age Pension have received the sanction letter so far.

Health Care:

Responding to requests from the local people and as a first step in the direction of addressing the health care requirements of the local people – Michelin has initiated health camps. These camps will cover paediatrics, gynaecology, general health care and eye care. The eye camps are being undertaken in cooperation with Sankara Nethralaya (http://www.supportsankaranethralaya.org/Updates.html ) and the rest are being administered by Lifeline Hospitals (http://www.lifelinehospitals.com/corporate.php) and Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute. These camps will serve to map out the health status of the local people and assist with a long term plan.

Health Camps:

A number of health camps have been carried out in order to trigger demand for and improve access to quality health care in the area. Since 2011, six camps have been carried out in the villages of Soolaimeni, Annavaram, Karadiputhur, Palavakkam, Sengarai and Vannankuppam. In order to ensure widespread coverage, people in neighbouring villages were informed about the camps and invited to participate as well. In the course of these camps, 1604 people were examined, 1559 people received medication, and 261 people were referred and treated.

Based on morbidity trends that emerged from the camp at Karadiputhur (which covered 7 villages), diabetes, hypertension and dental problems appear to be the predominant health issues. Of the 213 persons who registered for this camp, 66 positive cases of hypertension, 47 cases of diabetes and 83 cases with dental problems, were diagnosed. These trends underline the need for specialised preventive health interventions in the immediate future. Below are the details of the Health camps conducted till December 2012

Health camps conducted
Location	Date conducted	Number of people examined	Number of people administered medicines	Number of referrals and people treated
Soolaimeni	19/02/11	224	2	4
Annavaram	7/5/2011	310	310	15
Karadiputhur	18/06/11	230	230	62
Palavakkam	27/08/11	232	232	60
Sengarai	26/11/11	292	292	44
Vannankuppam	17/12/11	316	290	76
Total		1604	1559	261

Eye Camps:

In order to improve access to quality eye care for vulnerable populations, including the elderly, eleven eye camps were held since 2010. Michelin has conducted these camps in Association with Shankara Netralaya. A total of 2493 people were screened, 141 cataract operations were conducted and 821 pairs of spectacles were distributed. This also includes the latest eye camp conducted on the 21^st of Jan 2012. Below are details of the eye camps conducted till Jan 2012

Spectacle distribution event was held on 6^th Feb 2012 to the beneficiaries of the recently help eye camp

Eye camps conducted
Location	Date conducted	Number of people examined	Number of cataract operations	Number of spectacles distributed
Sengarai	18/09/2010	245	Nil	Nil
Karadiputhur	13/11/2010	200	24	Nil
Karadiputhur	12/12/2010	154	7	96
Sengarai	5/2/2011	267	9	91
Palavakkam	19/04/2011	375	20	123
Mukkarampakkam	30/04/2011	190	12	61
Lachivakkam	28/05/2011	210	13	110
Kannankottai	25/06/2011	270	18	96
Thandalam	12/11/2011	242	20	65
Kollanur	3/12/2011	138	7	68
Soolaimeni	21/01/2012	202	11	111
	Total	2493	141	821

Education:

Computer Training:

Michelin and volunteers from Michelin took the next step to train the school students on basic computer skills. The training took place for the students of 2 schools. A total of 108 students benefited from this training program. Students from Government Higher secondary school, Koppur and Government Higher secondary school, Kakkallur took place in this program

The Eureka SuperKidz Programme:

This programme runs after-school evening support classes in 10 villages across the project area. A total of 419 students are enrolled in these centres, where their language, mathematics, science and English competencies are strengthened. The teachers, 3 per school, are hired from the village to conduct these evening support classes. The teachers are vetted and selected through a process of parent meetings, Panchayat and school teacher meetings as well as personal interviews. The teachers receive training from educationists at Association for India’s Development (AID). They also receive teaching kits which they use to guide their classes

The progress of each child is monitored by AID according to specific parameters for different age groups.

Enrolment in support classes as of October 2011
Block	Village	Enrolment
Gummidippoondi	Annavaram	58
Ellapuram	Kakkavakkam	27
Gummidippoondi	Kannankottai	65
Gummidippoondi	Karadiputhur	40
Gummidippoondi	Kollanoor	31
Gummidippoondi	Mukkarampakkam	49
Ellapuram	Sengarai	21
Ellapuram	Soolameni	41
Ellapuram	Thandalam	31
Gummidippoondi	Thervoy	56
Total		419

Road Safety:

“Meeting the challenge of road safety not only through tire innovations but also through community involvement is tangible proof of one of Michelin’s fundamental values, which is respect for people”

Michelin, in association with State Highways Department, has implemented some Road Safety initiatives along SH51 (State Highway 51). Work in this direction has already commenced with the Company installing 60 road safety reflective boards between Janapachatram to Pallavakakam. In addition, Michelin has recently installed 32 reflective boards, with various road safety messages, on the village panchayat road connecting Pallavakkam and the mud road leading to the Company site. This initiative will not only help in safe travel but also aim at increasing awareness and visibility on safety while travelling on these roads.

Other Special Activities:

Village Specific Activities:

Listening to the needs and requirements of villages, Michelin also supports the villages in certain specific activities from time to time.

Community Interaction:

Michelin’s Interaction with the community took the next step with the release of its Community Newsletter ‘THULIR’. 2 editions of the Newsletter have already been distributed. The third edition of the newsletter will be circulated in a few days. Through this newsletter, Michelin updates the community on the updates from the site and also various trainings available for the community to enhance their skills. This also acts as a medium for the community for participating in various training programs conducted by Michelin.