Bridgestone European manufacturing network restarts production

Bridgestone EMIA has resumed production at its European manufacturing plants in Bari (Italy) and Lanklaar (Belgium). The Béthune (France) plant will reopen tomorrow, 21 April 2020. This follows the 14 April news that production in all Bridgestone plants located in Spain (Burgos, Bilbao and Puente San Miguel) and Russia (Ulyanovsk) had recommenced. Today’s announcement means that Bridgestone EMIA’s full manufacturing network has restarted production with the exception of its Indian and South African plants, which remain closed for now.

Bridgestone plants were originally closed in reaction to the widespread drop in demand for tyre products, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with business and customer needs for Bridgestone tyres now beginning to rise again, the business has made the decision to resume production in order to ensure adequate supply.

The company adds that the health and safety of Bridgestone employees at the reopened plants remains its key priority while the COVID-19 situation remains severe. It said that it is strictly following the guidance and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and government regulations in the countries in which it operates. In addition, Bridgestone states that it has “implemented thorough procedures and checklists in accordance with its protocols for the prevention of occupational hazards to ensure social distancing and adequate protection of its workforce.”

IT concluded that it would continue to monitor both the ongoing health situation and the fluctuation in demand for its products “very closely”.