Bridgestone Archives - Page 177 of 275 - Tyrepress

Based in Japan, Bridgestone Corporation is the world’s largest tyre and rubber company.

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Bridgestone Appointed MotoGP Tyre Supplier

The sole remaining major contender for the MotoGP tyre supply contract following Michelin’s decision not to bid has been officially named. On October 18 Bridgestone was officially appointed the sole tyre supplier for the MotoGP World Championship for a three-year period starting 2009. The Japanese tyre major was the only tyre manufacturer to submit a proposal to Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) and Dorna following the September announcement from FIM that MotoGP would become a single tyre make series as of next year. The specific regulations pertaining to the single tyre contract will be confirmed by FIM in ‘due course’, reports Bridgestone.

20th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Opens Carbon Black Plant in Mexico

On October 17, Mexico Carbon Manufacturing SA DE CV (MXCB), a wholly owned member of the Bridgestone Group, officially opened its new carbon black production facility in Altamira, Mexico. Output from the new plant, which is forecast to be approximately 35,000 tons per annum, will be supplied to Bridgestone’s tyre factories in North America as well as Central and South America.

The MXCB operated 430,000 square metre facility, which employs around 100 workers, is the Bridgestone Group’s third plant dedicated to the production and supply of carbon black. The other two are located in Japan and Thailand.

20th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Presents Safety Award at Paris Motor Show

For the third consecutive year, Bridgestone has sponsored the “Best Safety Innovation” prize in the international competition for automotive design students organised by Interior Motives magazine. The award was presented by Benoit Raulin, managing director Bridgestone France, at the Interior Motives Design Awards 2008 ceremony, held during the Paris Motor Show.

The audience of leading motor industry professionals attending the motor show saw the safety award and cash prize presented to French student Pierre Sabas for his design of a futuristic protective shell that wraps around each occupant of the vehicle and protective side panels integrated in the roll bars. This imaginative concept also won him the top Interior Motives Student Designer of the Year award.

16th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Outlines Senior Management Changes

Bridgestone Corporation announced on October 14 that its board of directors has approved the following proposals of the changes in corporate officers.

Changing positions and responsibilities of Corporate Officers – effective October 16, 2008

– Yasumi Kawasaki.
New position and responsibilities: Vice president and senior officer responsible for Quality Management, Quality
Current position and responsibilities: Vice president and senior officer responsible for Quality Management

15th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Americas Restructures Tyre Operations

Tyre operations at Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc. (BSAH) will be restructured, the company has announced, the changes taking effect January 1, 2009. Asahiko “Duke” Nishiyama will lead the new unit, which will be named Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO). Reporting into this unit will be the company’s Latin American tyre operations, the US and Canadian consumer tyre businesses and the US and Canadian commercial tyre businesses. Nishiyama will continue to report to Mark A. Emkes, chairman, CEO and president, BSAH. Reporting to Nishiyama under this new structure will be:

15th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Firestone Name Dropped by Bridgestone America

As a final addendum to the numerous Bridgestone-based restructuring announcements made today, the company has decided to retire the Firestone name from its corporate identity in many territories of the Americas. The manufacturer said that the removal of Firestone, which will come into effect on 1 January, 2009, is designed to reflect the place within Bridgestone of the Japanese giant’s subsidiaries and simplify the brand for the public.

Mark Emkes, chairman and CEO of Bridgestone Americas Holdings in Nashville, TN, said that the Firestone name will be retained “with its own identity as a historic product and service brand” within the new corporate structure. It was also pointed out that in the case of Bridgestone Firestone Diversified Products – the subsidiary making Firestone-branded roofing materials, air springs, textiles and natural rubber – the name to be dropped will be Bridgestone’s. The company will be renamed Firestone Diversified Products at the beginning of next year.

15th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Promotes BT-016 Bike Tyre in Pedrosa Campaign

Bridgestone UK has initiated a new media campaign featuring MotoGP star Dani Pedrosa to promote its hypersport BT-016 motorcycle tyre. According to wholesaler Bike Tyrestore, the BT-016 has quickly become established as one of the most popular choices for riders of sports and hypersports bikes, following it’s launch earlier this year.

Homing in on the widely publicised decision by MotoGP star Dani Pedrosa to switch from Michelin tyres to Bridgestone in the later stages of the 2008 World Championship, the high profile advertising campaign will catch readers of most of the main two-wheel consumer magazines, including the big selling weekly Motorcycle News.

15th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Returns as Title Sponsor of UK NFL Match

American football fans in the UK rejoice – the NFL is returning to our shores, once again with title sponsorship from Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire. The company announced on October 13 it has returned for a second season as title sponsor to the Bridgestone International Series.
The Bridgestone brand, which also is the “Official Tire of the National Football League” and title sponsor of the Bridgestone Super Bowl Halftime Show, will play a key role in the promotion of the San Diego Chargers-New Orleans Saints game to be played at London’s Wembley Stadium on October 26. Bridgestone’s involvement will include field-level LED boards with brand logos, stadium signage, presenting sponsorship of the pre-game show on Sky Sports, video board features and print programme advertisements.

14th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Merges Number of Domestic Sales Units

Bridgestone is to “reorganise its domestic tyre sales units” on 1 January 2009, the company has revealed in a press release, cutting the number of Japanese sales districts from 25 to 19. The manufacturer states that the measures are being introduced “to improve sales efficiency at a time of poor vehicle sales”.

The leading Japanese tyre maker plans to integrate sales subsidiaries in the five northern prefectures of Aomori, Miyagi, Fukushima, Akita and Yamagata into one, which will be set up in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture. Units currently in Tokyo and nearby Yamanashi Prefecture will be unified, and a unit in Shimane prefecture, western Japan, will be merged with one in neighbouring Hiroshima prefecture. Finally two retreading subsidiaries will be merged into one.

14th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Ahluwalia To Retire From Bridgestone/Firestone

Singh Ahluwalia has announced plans to retire next year, ending a 32-year career with Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire. The president of truck and bus tyre sales for the recently formed Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions will retire as of Mar. 1, 2009. He will also be leaving his position as a as member of the BFNAT board of directors. Ahluwalia will be succeeded by Kurt Danielson, currently vice president of marketing, who will become vice president of sales and marketing for BBTS. To provide a smooth transition, Danielson’s appointment is effective Nov. 1. Danielson will report directly to Saul Solomon, BBTS president, and will be responsible for all new and retreaded truck tire marketing and sales activities.

“After 32 years of dedication to our company, Singh has certainly put in his time and earned the opportunity to retire and enjoy more free time,” Solomon said. “Almost all of our major milestones in this business occurred during Singh’s tenure – the overall explosive growth in our TBR business, our long-standing relationship with Ryder and our partnership with Paccar. Above all, it was Singh’s vision that ultimately led to our merger with Bandag, a transaction that has given us so many opportunities across the globe.” (Tire Review/Akron)

14th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin is Leading Online Tyre Brand in 2008

Online Brand Equity

Michelin is once again the leading tyre brand on the internet, according to research conducted by online analysts Envisional. The unique online brand ranking exercise, which has been published exclusively in association with Tyres & Accessories since 2005, also found that Pirelli was the biggest faller and that the gap between premium and following brands is widening.

The Michelin brand retains the top spot from the 2007 report and has performed strongly online since the first tyre branding analysis in 2005 when it came third. The 2008 report shows the French manufacturer’s strongly positive ‘sentiment’ score kept it right out in front this year, though Dunlop (climbing from third to second) and the strongly improving Goodyear (up from sixth to third) also turned in good performances. Bridgestone will not be so happy, having lost ground a little and dropped down the sentiment rankings from second to fourth place.

13th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Unveils Plans for European Road Safety Day

October 13 is European Road Safety Day. To play its part in this event, taking place for the second year, Bridgestone has planned extensive programme promoting the importance of good tyre care in road safety. Activities, it says, will include thousands of free safety checks for motorists across Europe backed by local safety education initiatives in individual countries. The free safety check-ups will be conducted by the company’s First Stop tyre dealer network, with more than 1,700 of its outlets across Europe participating. Work will be carried out within First Stop premises, in store car parks and in various public places over a three-week period.

10th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Extending Belgium Logistic Centre

To support the growth of the company’s European business and better service customers across the continent, Bridgestone has decided to further extend the supply chain operations at its North European Logistic Centre in Zeebrugge. The extension also provides scope for the future addition of value added services such as tyre mounting.

The extension will be realised in two phases: Phase 1 involves the construction of an 18,000 square metre warehouse on three hectares of land, with an investment of 7 million euros. Depending on building permits and administrational procedures, the plan could be finalised as early as the third quarter of 2009. Phase 2, for which an option has been taken on a further 3.68 hectares of land, involves the construction of an additional 20,000 square metre warehouse and an investment of around 7 million euros.

9th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

MotoGP Riders Express Support for One Tyre Rule

Bridgestone, the only tyre manufacturer to submit a tyre supply proposal for the 2009 MotoGP season, has been all but officially confirmed as the official supplier in next year’s single tyre competition. This is a development that has reportedly been generally well received by the majority of riders in the top racing category.

9th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Present Green – Literally – F1 Tyres

Following the addition of reflective painted strips on the company’s extreme-wet and super-soft tyres at the Singapore Formula One night race, Bridgestone has announced that its rubber at the Japanese Grand Prix in Fuji will contain green-painted grooves to show its support for the Make Tyres Green campaign.

Ferrari and McLaren’s drivers, who were at the launch alongside with their Make Tyres Green tyre-shod cars, were full of praise for the initiative. Felipe Massa said that it was good that drivers “in the public limelight” could promote the movement and that Formula One “should try to lead by example with energy efficient systems.” Lewis Hamilton added that, “the messages of the campaign help to show us that we can all choose to drive in a greener way… The new Make Cars Green tyre that all the teams will be running on in Fuji is a great way to promote the campaign and a real first for Formula One. The sport can also help in other ways, especially with the launch of new energy efficient technologies next season.”

8th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors