Pirelli Is Putting $1.2 Billion Into Rome and Adding 1,000 Jobs. This Is What Long-Term Industrial Commitment Looks Like.
Pirelli has been in Rome since 2002. Its next move is not a small upgrade: a multi-year $1.2 billion expansion, around 1,000 new jobs and enough new capacity to transform the scale of its Georgia operation.
ROME, Ga. Georgia economic-development headlines often focus on companies choosing the state for the first time. Pirelli’s latest decision tells a different story.
The Italian tire manufacturer plans to invest approximately $1.2 billion in a multi-year expansion of its existing Rome facility and create around 1,000 new jobs. The company has operated its U.S. headquarters and manufacturing facility in Rome since 2002.
That makes this more than a recruitment win. It is a 24-year-old relationship becoming dramatically larger.
The Rome plant is set to become a much bigger operation
Pirelli says the expansion will begin in 2027 and unfold in two phases. The first phase will expand production using the latest version of the company’s Modular Integrated Robotized System, or MIRS, followed by a highly automated traditional manufacturing operation for premium tires.
When the project reaches full capacity in 2033, Pirelli says the Rome facility is expected to produce approximately 6 million car tires annually, including products using its Cyber Tyre technology.
The company currently employs 234 Georgians across its manufacturing, innovation and headquarters operations in the state. Georgia officials say the bulk of hiring tied to the expansion is expected to begin in 2029.
This is the retention side of economic development
Communities celebrate new-company announcements because the wins are easy to see: a new name, a new facility and a new payroll.
But existing-industry expansion can carry a different kind of signal.
A company already operating in a community has experienced the local labor market, utilities, logistics network, permitting environment and day-to-day business climate. When that company chooses the same location again, the decision is being made with firsthand knowledge rather than a sales presentation.
That is the same economic-development pattern ALL-N-GEORGIA recently highlighted in Valdosta, where five existing industries announced a combined $26.2 million in new investment and 77 jobs.
Rome’s Pirelli announcement is the same idea at a much larger scale.
Pirelli considered other sites
The City of Rome said Pirelli evaluated other locations before selecting Rome for the expansion.
That detail matters because it turns the investment from simple inertia into a competitive decision. The company was not obligated to place the next phase of its U.S. growth where its current operation sits.
Instead, Rome will become what Pirelli describes as a state-of-the-art industrial hub built around advanced automation, premium products and next-generation tire technology.
The timeline matters
This is not 1,000 jobs arriving next month.
The expansion is scheduled to begin in 2027, production capacity is expected to ramp up beginning in 2028, most hiring is projected to begin in 2029 and full operations are not expected until 2033.
Those dates are important because major development announcements are promises about future activity. The real economic impact will depend on construction, hiring and production milestones being completed over the coming years.
But the scale of the plan gives Northwest Georgia something significant to build around.
The Georgia inside the story
Georgia’s economic-development strategy is often described through the companies the state attracts.
Rome shows why the companies Georgia keeps may matter just as much.
The Georgia inside this story is that Pirelli is not betting on an unfamiliar place. After more than two decades in Rome, it is making a $1.2 billion decision with years of evidence about what operating there actually looks like.