Cimcorp delivers automation systems for Algerian tire plant

July 6, 2017 — Cimcorp, manufacturer and integrator of robotic handling solutions, has received a major order for automated logistics systems in a tire plant in Algeria. The factory is a venture for the Algerian consumer electronics and household appliances group, Eurl Saterex-Iris. With growth in sales of products marketed under its ‘Iris’ brand, Eurl Saterex-Iris is diversifying into tire manufacturing. The plant is being built in Sétif, 300 km east of the capital, Algiers.

Explaining the investment, Yacine Guidoum, Managing Director of Eurl Saterex-Iris, said, “The area around Sétif is undergoing significant economic growth across a number of sectors, including the automotive industry. The Algerian market consumes more than 7 million tires a year and the products currently being imported are generally of poor quality. This represents a fantastic opportunity to repeat our manufacturing success in another sector. In addition to producing locally-branded tires to meet Algerian demand, we will be exporting about a third of our output to European and African markets.”

The new facility – which will be the largest tire manufacturing plant in Africa – will be operational by Spring 2018 and a production of 1 million passenger car radial (PCR) tires is planned for the first year, followed by 2 million units of both PCR and truck and bus (TBR) tires in the second year. Guidoum explained, “With this being a Greenfield site, we had the opportunity to design the most efficient factory from scratch. This is why we have chosen robotic automation from Cimcorp; we wanted the best logistics technology currently available for our new plant.”

Cimcorp will supply automated handling systems based on its ‘Dream Factory’ solution for both upstream and downstream manufacturing processes at the Sétif plant. This means automated handling from the raw materials and compound warehouse to the mixing and compounding areas, as well as handling automation for green tires from tire building to curing, and finished tire handling in the testing and palletizing areas.