Companies in Clermont-Ferrand

A restaurant guide that started as a marketing trick is the most famous thing Michelin ever made — but tires are the real business, and the guide was invented in 1900 precisely to sell more of them. Founded in 1889 by brothers Édouard and André Michelin in Clermont-Ferrand, the company put rubber on the world's wheels and never stopped, becoming one of the two largest tire makers on earth. Michelin's product range is built around application depth: passenger and truck tires under the Michelin, BFGoodrich, and Uniroyal brands, plus aircraft tires, earthmover tires for mining trucks that weigh hundreds of tonnes, and two-wheel tires for motorcycles and bicycles. Its run-flat and self-sealing technologies, the result of heavy R&D spending, are standard options on premium cars from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Porsche. The group employs roughly 132,000 people across more than 60 countries and generates annual sales of about €28 billion. It also sells data services — the Michelin Connected Fleet platform tracks tire pressure, wear, and fuel consumption across commercial fleets, turning a century-old rubber company into a mobility data provider.