The Michelin Group expanding production in China
CGTN Europe interviewed Florent Menegaux, CEO of Michelin.
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00:00The French multinational Michelin group has long been committed to enhancing mobility,
00:11not only by making tires, but also with its renowned Michelin travel guides.
00:16Florent Menegal, its president and CEO of Michelin, spoke to CGTN's Trent Mari about
00:22the company's global reach and its expanding relationship with China.
00:26Michelin has been operating now for the past 134 years all over the world.
00:33We are present in 175 countries around the world and we employ 135,000 people and we
00:44are growing nicely everywhere.
00:461988, Michelin establishes a sales office in Hong Kong.
00:51The next year it moves to mainland China.
00:5335 years you've had a presence in China now.
00:57When you reflect on that three and a half decades, what are some of the highlights for
01:02you as a company?
01:03So first is we have welcomed the opening of China and that's why we moved in this country
01:12as soon as we could basically.
01:14And so since then we have developed very nicely in China.
01:18We operate, we have more than 6,000 employees in China.
01:23We have two plants.
01:26One of our major plants in the world is in China, in Shenyang, in the north part of China.
01:32But we have also a plant in Shanghai.
01:36We have also a research and development facility plus our headquarter in China.
01:40So really China is an important country for us now.
01:45We spoke about tires.
01:46I suppose some might say that's kind of the bread and butter of the business.
01:49But many people would know Michelin for something else.
01:51That is of course the Michelin Guide, food, gastronomy, another part of your business.
01:57I mean just talk us through I suppose the Chinese aspect of that as well if you could.
02:03I mean you have many Chinese restaurants in the Michelin Guide.
02:08So we launched the first guide in 1900 and the purpose at that time was just to help
02:17people move around and discover new space, etc.
02:22And of course China now has established as a – there are not many food culture around
02:28the world and China is one of them.
02:31So of course there are plenty of new things to discover in China.
02:36We started by a guide helping customers, food customers to select restaurants in Beijing
02:46and in Shanghai.
02:48And now we have developed more cities and we have plans to expand even further.
02:54Not just in China but I think internationally and you would be aware of this.
02:58When people think of Michelin star dining they might imagine well one must have to have
03:01very deep pockets to afford Michelin star food.
03:07Is that true?
03:08I mean is someone on say a student budget, can they also enjoy good food from a Michelin
03:13star venue?
03:14Yes.
03:15I know for example we have started a very small shop in a metro station in Singapore
03:26that was providing excellent food and they had one star.
03:31So it's not because it's expensive.
03:34What we judge is the quality of the food and that's it.
03:39And it doesn't have to be expensive.
03:41Simon Hegal, thank you for speaking with CGTN.
03:45It was a pleasure.