Michelin Canada helps staff roll into their dream job

Not everyone who works for Michelin North America (Canada) Inc. gets selected to attend conferences in Paris. But Amanda Robar, benefits and disability coordinator at Michelin’s Bridgewater, N.S., plant, made her third trip to the City of Light in October for a meeting with other Michelin employees from around the world.

The career trajectory of Robar, who started out on the shop floor but has moved through several positions in her more than 17 years with the company, illustrates why staff loyalty is high, she says. “Michelin really respects its people and gives us the opportunity to do what we want with our careers. I’ve benefited from lots of training. And it encourages our teams to work together.”

Robar also appreciates Michelin’s commitment to being a positive force in the communities that are home to its manufacturing sites – three in Nova Scotia and one in Shawinigan, Que., where it makes products for off-road vehicles (the company also has a marketing and sales team in Laval, Que., and an R&D group in Magog, Que.). With her employer’s support, she has been involved with initiatives including her plant’s Special Olympics committee, which she now leads, Earth-day cleanups and a program called Michelin Junior Bike which promotes bicycle and helmet safety and provides, among other things, a free helmet.

Meanwhile, in 2020 she was invited to represent Canadian employees at a global Michelin meeting, designed to generate dialogue involving all its host countries to better understand, and make recommendations for improving, the effects of economic change on things including employee welfare, sustainable development and diversity, particularly the inclusion of employees with disabilities.

“It blew me away that I would even be considered for something like that,” she recalls. “How many opportunities are out there where you can go to France as a representative of your company?”

Andrew Mutch, president of Michelin Canada, says central to the company’s ethos is celebrating the potential of all its more than 5,000 employees across Canada, of which about 4,000 are in Nova Scotia.

“We have a stated ambition of giving people the opportunity to have a job they love,” he continues. “We have the best people in the world, and they’re the ones who are going to make our company successful for the long term by helping to generate the innovations and creativity we need for our businesses to progress and continue to be profitable.”

Mutch notes that environmental sustainability is very high on the Michelin agenda. “We are aiming for a 50 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions from our operations by 2030. We want to be 100 per cent net zero by 2050 and we want to use 40 per cent recycled or renewable materials in our tires by 2030, which is a monumental target. We want to reduce the CO2 emissions from our transportation fleets. What we are trying to do is improve our environmental footprint and help our world.”

Mutch says that a chunk of the $300 million that Michelin announced last year to bolster its Nova Scotia operations will help to finance sustainability.

Diversity is another priority, he adds. Michelin Canada revamped its Canadian job postings in 2023 to appeal to a broader demographic. As a result, 51 per cent of Michelin Canada’s new hires that year identified as women, visible minorities, Indigenous or persons with disabilities.

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Canada's Top 100 Employers winners, published November 15, 2024 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.

Michelin makes sure its people are on a roll

From the time Crystal Phillips started almost 20 years ago as a tire builder at Michelin North America (Canada) Inc., its Granton, Pictou County plant has felt like much more than just a workplace.

“When you’re on the floor in production, where I spent many years, you’re spending time with people who become almost more like family,” she recalls. “You get to know them very personally, and you get to know about their kids, because you’re with them side-by-side for 12-hour stretches.”

Moving up the ranks to her current role as a business support analyst, Phillips says, that warm atmosphere has prevailed. “I still keep in touch with people I met on the shop floor and we still hang out outside of the plant. But my work family has grown to include the people I’ve become friends with in this position.”

She adds that Michelin, best known as one of Canada’s largest tire manufacturers, has provided a great deal of encouragement as she’s advanced in the company.

“About six years ago, I sat with my manager and said I was ready to start moving on and asked what I needed to do. As soon as I showed that drive, the company was right there.

“There were so many people helping me,” Phillips recalls, “and saying, ‘Okay, let’s try this. Let’s give you these added responsibilities on top of your regular, day to-day things and see how you manage.’ That really allowed me to grow.”

She adds that she applied for her current job “at the prompting of one of my past managers, who came to me and said, ‘You know, this would be really good for you.’”

Michelin has also supported Phillips’ online studies toward a bachelor’s degree in human resources management from Athabasca University. “I’ve taken the courses outside of work and was able to take advantage of the educational reimbursement policy, which is just fantastic,” she says. “I’m almost done. As well, they sent me to a manufacturing leadership program at the local community college.”

Andrew Mutch, president of Michelin Canada, says a key part of the company’s DNA is encouraging the growth and potential of all its more than 5,000 employees across Canada, of which about 4,000 are in Nova Scotia.

“Every company can buy machines and processes and equipment and plants,” he adds, “but what stands out for Michelin is that we put people at the centre of everything we do. It’s all about releasing their potential so that they can grow and be innovative and help us to be the company we dream of being.”

Globally, Michelin isn’t just committed to its staff, shareholders and customers, Mutch says, but also to sustainability. The company is aiming for a 50 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions from its operations and is striving to use 40 per cent bio-sustainable or renewable materials in its tires by 2030. It aims to be 100 per cent net zero by 2050. “In short, we are trying to improve our environmental footprint, designing and creating products, services and solutions with less impact on our world.”

He notes that a portion of the $300 million that Michelin announced in 2023 to bolster its Nova Scotia operations is being used to finance sustainability.

Michelin also aims to help the communities in which it operates. “We have a number of really fantastic partners that we work with,” says Mutch. “One of our key ones is the Special Olympics Nova Scotia, which we’ve been sponsoring for 36 years. Our folks get so much reward and good feeling by being volunteers.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing the winners of this year's Atlantic’s Top Employers competition, published March 25, 2025 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.