Modernizing Tire Plants with Minimal Downtime
The tire industry is changing quickly. Manufacturers are under pressure from new trade regulations, stricter ESG requirements, and the fast growth of electric vehicles. Globally, decision makers face a crucial question: invest in new factories or upgrade existing ones.
While greenfield investments can expand capacity, they require significant investment, time, and planning. Upgrading existing tire plants, on the other hand, is often a faster, more sustainable path forward. It allows manufacturers to boost efficiency, reduce waste, and stay competitive, with minimal or no production interruption.
“The real challenge,” says Aki Nurminen, Solution Manager at Black Donuts, “is balancing immediate output with long-term transformation. You need to keep production running while adapting to new regulations, market demands, and an ever-growing number of SKUs—especially for EV and sustainable tires.”
With more than a decade of experience in automation, simulation, supply chain, and MES/MOM solutions, Aki adds that while greenfield projects can sometimes be the right choice, they often cost more and take longer to deliver results. “Brownfield modernization, however, can bring immediate, high-impact improvements.”
Brownfield as a Strategic Advantage
A well-executed brownfield project focuses on process optimization, automation, and integration. These upgrades address bottlenecks, balance production flow, and improve quality.
“Modernization doesn’t have to be intimidating,” Aki emphasizes. Every project comes with challenges, including policy changes, cultural resistance to adopting AI, or concerns about production disruption, and these are all valid. “That’s why a modular, step-by-step approach, planning, simulation, and a clear long-term vision are key. When done right, modernization delivers results that are visible not only in output but also in flexibility, cost, measurability, and risk.”
Prioritizing Upgrades Over New Construction
A: They seek faster results with moderate investments. Most factories have trained and experienced employees, but they often operate with outdated processes that no longer align with today’s product mix or production targets. They need more flexibility and modern product capability, while a new factory can feel too risky.
Q: How do you address those risks in practice?
A: A greenfield project can take several years to complete, even with Black Donuts’ support. In today’s unpredictable environment of changing tariffs, new product requirements, and shifting customer behavior, that’s a long time. Financing new plants can also be slow, which means the opportunity might pass before operations even begin. Upgrading existing plants, however, is typically faster to finance and delivers results sooner, with production continuing during the transformation. That said, brownfield projects also come with risks, such as:
- Modernization disrupting, or, in some cases, temporarily halting production for too long
- Investments failing to deliver expected results or adding complexity
- Lack of internal knowledge about modern technologies leading to outdated outcomes at launch
Q: What do you typically find during a tire factory (brownfield) audit?
A: Many factories were designed 20–40 years ago. New machinery may have been added, but material flow often remains manual, and layouts are no longer optimal. SKUs have multiplied, bottlenecks have shifted, and waste and rework levels are high. Typical findings include:
- Low OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) due to frequent changeovers and unplanned stoppages
- Outdated shop floor planning and scheduling unable to respond to real-time demand
- Poor traceability that’s manual and time-consuming
- Idle processes often resulting from outdated habits and limited continuous improvement (e.g., cycle-time optimization, quality enhancement, Value Stream Mapping)
- Oversized interim storage areas that cause inefficiency, disorder in storage and transportation, and quality risks
- Excessive labor required for handling, storage, and transport
- Unmanaged, non-standardized component libraries with no clear guidelines or platform strategy
These findings are common across both mid-size and large-scale factories — regardless of geography.
Q: Where are upgrades most impactful in brownfield modernization?
A: Every project is different, but the biggest improvements usually come from the main production stages: mixing, components, tire building, green tire storage, and curing. Instead of sub-optimizing individual areas, it is more effective to treat production as one connected chain.
At Black Donuts, we modernize tire plants through modular upgrades or complete transformations, depending on each customer’s needs. We start with a factory audit and then implement upgrades with minimal disruption. Typical improvements include optimizing the mixing cycle, refining process steps, and adding or upgrading automation for raw material handling, compound supply, and internal logistics.
Q: What should manufacturers consider before starting a brownfield project?
A: Start by asking how you see the factory evolving over the next 2–5 years in demand, product range, and capacity. Then evaluate:
- What are current manufacturing costs, and which areas can we realistically improve?
- Raw materials: As they represent the largest cost share, how can we reduce usage or waste?
- Energy: Where can we improve efficiency?
- Labor: Which processes could benefit from automation?
- Maintenance: How can we reduce downtime and costs?
- Depreciation: Can we increase capital efficiency to achieve better long-term results?
And finally, do we need external expertise to see things from a fresh, “out of the box” perspective?
Every factory has untapped potential. If you’d value a second opinion on your plant’s modernization roadmap, and a clear, data-driven view of where to start — we’d be glad to exchange ideas. Book a consultation.
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