Start Of Tyre Production At Bridgestone Poland

In January, the Bridgestone Corporation announced that mass production of tyres had begun at its joint venture factory in Poznan, Poland. The company is called the Bridgestone/Firestone Poland Limited Liability Company and is owned by Bridgestone (83.3%) and Stomil Poznan (16.

7%) with a capitalisation of $US 103 million. Work began on the Poznan plant in July 1998 and last month’s opening was six months ahead of schedule. It is Bridgestone’s sixth tyre factory in Europe and, worldwide, the company has 45 tyre plants in 23 countries.

The Poznan site employs 300 people. The tyres produced are radials for passenger cars and small commercial vehicles, destined for the European market. By the end of this year, daily output will be 6,000 tyres, rising to 10,000 by the end of 2001.