Bridgestone Archives - Page 188 of 276 - Tyrepress

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

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Bridgestone Establishes New East Europe Sales Companies

Bridgestone Europe NV/SA has established three new sales subsidiaries in Eastern Europe. Located in Romania, Slovakia and Latvia, the new companies are to be responsible for sales and marketing activities in these regions, with the aim of providing customers with higher quality service.

“Our sales in Romania, Slovakia and Baltic countries show a significant growth in recent years,” said Gerry Duffy, vice president Sales & Marketing Bridgestone Europe. “It’s time to get closer to the market, to strengthen our presence, and to better serve our customers and end users. I am convinced that the new sales companies and their teams will provide high quality services and solutions to our business partners.”

10th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Outlines Plan to ‘Make Cars Green’

June 5 was World Environment Day, and Bridgestone chose the occasion to announce its action plan for “Make Cars Green”, an initiative that seeks to raise awareness of the need for greener motoring around the world. During a parliamentary conference in Wellington, New Zealand, host city for World Environment Day this year, Mr. Shoshi Arakawa, chairman of the Board, CEO and president of Bridgestone Corporation, and Mr. David Ward, director general of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) Foundation, made the announcement that the Bridgestone Group will promote the initiative on a worldwide scale as a global partner of the FIA.

9th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

10 Million & Counting: Bridgestone Reaches Run-Flat Milestone

In August 2006 Bridgestone celebrated the delivery of five million run-flat tyres over the course of two decades; a mere twenty months later the company doubled this figure. On June 4 Bridgestone announced that it passed the ten million mark during April 2008.

Bridgestone says it recognises run-flat tyres as strategic products. The company also points to their environmental benefits, such as fuel economy through vehicle weight saving and reducing rubber consumption and scrap, and thus the company plans to further permeate and expand its run-flat market.

The first Bridgestone run-flat tyres were delivered in the early 1980s, the initial products being tyres fitted to specially manufactured vehicles for physically disabled persons. The first run-flats for a production vehicle model, the Porsche 959, were delivered in 1987. Bridgestone’s run-flat production has accelerated since 1999 as automakers have adopted run-flat specifications on a growing range of vehicle models, reflecting a changing environment surrounding motoring lifestyles. Currently the company produces run-flat tyres at six plants in four countries worldwide – Japan, the United States, Poland and South Africa.

9th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

F1 Tyre Warmer Ban Delay Rejected

Bridgestone, the official supplier of tyres to Formula One, is refusing to buckle under pressure from teams and drivers over the introduction of a tyre warmer ban next season.

It is currently permitted for Formula One teams to keep tyres warm with the use of specially-manufactured blankets, and drivers have expressed a great deal of concern at the implications of a ban on the use of the product. Citing not only concerns over the speed differential between cold and hot slicks, Williams driver Nico Rosberg was quoted by autosport.com as stating, “It’s not racing, it’s survival”, calling into question the safety of the proposed ban.

6th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli P6000 Victorious in Wheels Test

Pirelli’s P6000 has been awarded top marks in Tyre Test 2008 – a challenging series of tasks conducted by Australia’s Wheels Magazine. The P6000 was given a total score of 99.01 out of a possible 100, making it the top tyre tested in the 195/60R15 category.

Goodyear’s Eagle F1 Asymmetric received similar high praise from the magazine, ranked first in the 235/45R17 category and picking up an almost equally impressive score of 98.95.

6th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Offers First Stop Dealers Toyota Incentive

First Stop dealers around the UK are being rewarded for their performance with a courtesy car scheme. Bridgestone UK launched the scheme in December 2007 and has incentivised dealers by offering the Toyota Aygo Hatchback 1.0 VVT to garages which have surpassed performance expectations. To date nearly 20 dealers have received a Toyota Aygo, on a two year lease, which can be used by garages for employees to go to and from work, as a courtesy car or as a general garage run around for collecting parts.

Commenting on the scheme Mark Fereday, Retail Development Manager, at Bridgestone said: “Bridgestone supports outstanding performance and the courtesy car scheme is the latest in a range of measures to support the First Stop network and believe businesses will feel significant benefits from being involved. The success to date suggests that it will be up and running across the network very soon.”

5th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Rubber Workers Strike in Turkey

4,000 tyre manufacturing workers have responded to ICEM’s (International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions) Turkish trade union call to strike, after last-minute proposals by the employers’ association failed to avoid the action taking place.

The four manufacturing works affected by the strike action, in the Turkish cities of Izmit and Adapazari, are operated by Goodyear, Bridgestone and Pirelli. News sources state that the companies are resisting demands for three bi-yearly salary increases at the rate of Turkish inflation, following an initial wage increase of 12%.

4th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

CERM Research Shows Michelin Leads Motorcycle Tyre Performance

CERM (Centre d’Essais Routiers Mécaniques) has tested Michelin’s Pilot Road 2 and new Anakee 2 motorcycle tyres against the leading competitors in the market, with strong results for the French manufacturer. The Pilot Road 2 was tested against the Dunlop Roadsmart as an update to previous tests against six major competitors’ sport touring tyres; while the Anakee 2 was compared to two direct, major-brand competitors – the Metzeler Tourance EXP and Bridgestone Battle Wing. In both cases the tests involved two criteria: wear resistance and wet-surface grip.

The initial sport touring tyre tests, conducted in 2006 and 2007 compared 120/70 R 17 and 180/55 R 17 Pilot Road 2 tyres fitted to Suzuki Bandit 1200s with six comparable tyres from other premium manufacturers. The result were good, from Michelin’s perspective, and showed that the French tyres not only lasted longer but also offered better wet handling than its competitors, defying the supposed performance payoff between the two characteristics. According to Michelin, the same performance advantage was proven again in the 2008 tests against the Dunlop Roadsmart.

4th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

BFNAT Delay Decision Over Tech Centre

The future location of 600 jobs at the Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire technical centre remains undecided after the company delayed the decision until the end of the year.

The tyre manufacturer has yet to produce an initial recommendation in order to decide whether to keep the technical centre in Akron, Ohio or to relocate the 600 roles to Nashville, Tennessee, in which BFNAT’s headquarters are currently located. The decision was initially planned for the end of May, but the recommendation will now be made by executives in Nashville and Japan in late 2008.

4th June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Michelin Ranked No.1 in J.D. Power Winter Tyre Survey

For the fifth year in a row J.D. Power Asia Pacific has ranked Michelin the top brand for Japanese motorists in terms of winter tyre product satisfaction. The J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2008 Japan Winter Tire Customer Satisfaction Index Study is also itself now in its fifth year and measures customer satisfaction in five key areas: performance on snow covered roads, icy roads and regular roads, as well as tyre appearance and quality/durability. The overall index score is calculated based on customer evaluations and scored on a 1,000-point scale.

Average customer satisfaction for all brands is 592 points, up ten points since 2006. Industry-wide, the survey has shown tyre performance in icy and regular road conditions to have improved during the past three years. However, performance on icy road conditions has consistently received low ratings during the past three years, and according to the survey results continues to be an area for improvement for the industry.

2nd June 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Appoints Car Dealer Executive

Carl Williams has been appointed as car dealer executive within Bridgestone’s Consumer Sales department. Williams celebrated 10 years with the organisation at the start of the year having joined the firm in 1998 as area sales manager, before transferring to the role of business development manager with Bridgestone’s First Stop network in 2007. In his new role Carl will continue to be responsible for the south and Wales, working alongside Phil Livingston, car dealer executive for the northern region.

Commenting on his new role, Carl Williams said: “I have worked within the tyre industry for 28 years and although I have worked in various roles, it has always been in a retail environment. This new role provides the opportunity to use my experience in consumer sales to tackle new challenges.”

30th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Receives Record Entries for “dreams at heArt” contest

The number of entries for Bridgestone’s “dreams at heArt” children’s drawing contest received during 2008 set a new record. A total of 40,700 entries were received from children in 20 European countries, and in mid-May a panel of judges in Brussels selected the 90 winners for this year’s contest, their decisions based upon the originality, creativity and impact of the work.

Combining the issue of ecology with that of road safety, this year’s theme was “Safe Travel on Planet Ecopia”. Primary school children throughout Europe were invited to draw, colour or paint their dreams of how this planet might look. As in previous years, winners were selected in each of three age categories: up to 7 years, 8 to 9, and 10 to 11. The top three winners in each category receive a Bridgestone bicycle and safety helmet; the 4th to 10th placed receive a Bridgestone tennis set of racket and balls; and the 11th to 30th placed in each category win a safety bag. The top nine winners are also acknowledged in a special way – their work will be painted onto a Bridgestone GP2 Series racing car. In addition, a digital camera will be gifted to their school.

29th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Releases Report on Improper Payments Investigation

Since disclosing on February 12 this year incidents of improper monetary payments to foreign agents, all or a part of which may have been provided to foreign governmental officials, the CEO of Bridgestone Corporation, Mr. Shoshi Arakawa, has directed an ongoing investigation through an ‘Investigation Committee (the ‘committee’) comprised of external attorneys. On the three-month anniversary of the committee’s initial establishment, the company presented its interim report, which is outlined below:

1. Investigation

Since the announcement on February 12, the committee has conducted the investigation ‘vigorously’, says Bridgestone. However, the scope of this investigation is extensive and includes some of the company’s overseas subsidiaries. The subject of the investigation has now expanded to the entirety of Bridgestone’s Industrial Products division. Moreover, since the committee needs to consider not only Japan’s Unfair Competition Act but also the regulations of other countries, this latest report remains an interim report and has not been made final.

28th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone and Fiege Open Czech Republic Logistics Centre

International News

On May 16th 2008 Bridgestone Europe and its logistics partner Fiege officially opened the new Bridgestone “European Logistics Center ” (ELC) East in the Czech Republic town of Bor. Around 100 guests attended the opening ceremony including representatives from 15 local, regional and national media, neighbouring companies, several customers and suppliers, and various members of Bridgestone Europe and Fiege Group companies.

Both VIP speakers, Fiege CEO Mr. Jens Fiege and Yves Kerstens, VP Supply Chain, Bridgestone Europe, expressed their satisfaction with the relationship between the two long-term partners and the results achieved, specifically in the case of the Bor tyre warehouse. Mr. Kerstens stated in his speech: “Personally I am very pleased to see the results that have been achieved in this context with the Fiege Group. In 1978 Bridgestone was Fiege’s first “contract logistics” customer in Germany and today Fiege is our main service provider in Central and East Europe, operating warehouses in Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic and also the first partner to perform cross border deliveries.”

27th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone to Buy 8.7% Share in Toyo Tire

Bridgestone Corporation has agreed to buy an 8.7 per cent stake in Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd., with Toyo reciprocating by buying a 0.5 per cent share of Bridgestone. Describing the moves as “business and capital alliances,” the Japanese tyre and rubber product manufacturers explained that moves are part of an agreement designed to help both companies syngergise in procurement and production. The transfer of shares is scheduled for Oct. 16, according to the statement. There are currently no details of whether or not the two Japanese tyre and rubber product manufacturer’s deal will extend beyond the announced share swap.

Bridgestone’s statement said the alliances are a result of the “bipolarization of market into high performance products and general-purpose products, structural changes in competition due to emerging power with low-priced products, and structural change in earnings due to steep rise of raw material cost.”

16th May 2008/by Tyrepress Editors