Michelin is a major French tire manufacturer that has a manufacturing plant in Chennai, India. In 2009, Michelin signed an agreement with the Tamil Nadu government to build a 290-acre tire manufacturing facility 50 km north of Chennai. The plant focuses on producing radial truck and bus tires and became operational in 2013. Over 700 employees helped launch the plant, including 350 Indian workers trained in 12 countries. Michelin has implemented their "Green Factory" concept at the Chennai plant, including planting over 6,000 saplings on site.