Bridgestone marks Bari plant’s half-century

Bridgestone recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Bari plant in Italy. The tyre maker held an open day for employees and more than 700 attendees, and festivities were attended by local management and Ryutaro Ishii, senior vice-president Manufacturing Bridgestone Europe. During the event, Bridgestone presented awards to long-serving employees and also celebrated 2.5 million work hours with “zero accidents” at the plant.

During his speech, Ishii emphasised the challenging current economic conditions in Europe. “In a context such as the present, it is essential that each one of us focuses totally on our daily work,” he said. “It is vital for us to be able to produce the best tyres in Europe at competitive cost.” Commenting on the plant’s safety record, Raúl Bluhn, managing director Bridgestone Bari, said “in addition to marking the historical milestone of 50 years of operations, it is appropriate to celebrate 2.5 million work hours without injury. Fourteen months of work with zero accidents is an historical record for the plant – a record that could not be achieved without the relentless focus of all employees on safety standards.”

The Bari plant came under Bridgestone control in 1988, following the company’s global acquisition of Firestone. The first Bridgestone-branded radial was produced there in 1991. The plant moved to a seven-day a week production cycle in 1994 after obtaining ISO 9002 certification the previous year; ISO / TS 16949 certification was obtained in 2003. A new warehouse for raw materials was built in Bari in 2010, and following the installation of production equipment for UHP and run-flat tyres in 2009-2010, BMW approved the supply of Bari-produced run-flat tyres in 2011. Today, the Bari plant employs 1,000 people and produces 20,000 passenger car tyres a day for European original equipment and replacement markets.