Bridgestone to Construct Third Plant in Mexico

Bridgestone has announced that it build its third factory in Mexico at a cost of $220 million (£117 million). According to Bridgestone, the factory will be the company’s first automated plant overseas from “initial processing of materials to final inspection of the finished tyres.” The plant will feature Bridgestone’s first installation of its BIRD (Bridgestone Innovative and Rational Development) system.

The company says that the BIRD system will form the cornerstone of its latest venture. Apart from fully automation the production process, the new technology is able to produce several different types and sizes of tyres simultaneously, allowing for great flexibility and the ability to be responsive to customer needs. The first full production installation of the BIRD system occurred earlier this year at Bridgestone Corporation’s Hikone plant in Japan.

The factory in Monterrey will begin production in July 2007 with capacity of up to 8000 tyres a day. These will mostly to be sold in North America for passenger cars and light trucks, the company said in a statement.
The company’s third Mexican plant will be Bridgestone’s 49th factory spread across 23 countries, vying with Michelin for the title of the world’s number one tyre producer.