Bridgestone Invests

Bridgestone has announced that it will invest 227 billion yen (£1.13 billion) in its global tyre manufacturing business between 2003 and 2007. In the announcement the company explained that is has been operating a kind of five-year investment plan, in order to meet growth in demand. According to a Deutsche Bank report, the company is to invest 88 billion yen (£438 million) in addressing the shift in demand towards high-performance tyres and tyres of large rim sizes.

To meet the increase in demand for passenger car tyres in emerging markets, Bridgestone is investing 49 billion yen (£244 million) in the expansion of its production capacity in Asia and Latin America. The company is also planning to put 50 billion yen (£249 million) towards serving the growing demand for truck and bus tyres and tyres for construction equipment. In addition the company is planning to have spent another 40 billion yen (£199 million) on raw material production expansion by the end of its investment programme.