BMW Equips New 6 Series with Bridgestone Runflat Tires in Japan
Bridgestone Corporation announced that it has begun supplying Potenza RE050 runflat tires to BMW for factory installation on 6 Series models sold in Japan.
Based in Japan, Bridgestone Corporation is the world’s largest tyre and rubber company.
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Minekazu Fujimura named Chairman, CEO and President of BSEU
Career TracksAs from April 2004, Minekazu Fujimura has taken up the position of Chairman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President of Bridgestone Europe (BSEU).
Bridgestone Revises First Half Forecast
Product NewsBridgestone Corporation has revised its first half profits forecast upwards by two fifths. The company predicted a first half net income of 45 billion Yen (US$ 396 million) in a statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, in which the corporation also reported a first quarter profit of 28 billion Yen. The main reasons for the revision are rising overseas sales and a weaker Yen, which increases the domestic value of foreign currency earnings. Bridgestone shares rose four per cent on the news.
Bridgestone To Supply DaimlerChrysler Trucks
Product NewsFrom 1st January next year, Bridgestone will become a main supplier to DaimlerChrysler of tyres for middle-sized and heavy trucks (six tons and over) for European, African, Asian and Middle Eastern markets. Bridgestone has been supplying its Greatec Mega Drive super single to DCX since 2002 and the success of this relationship has led to the latest deal.
Bridgestone To Raise North American Prices
Product NewsPrices of Bridgestone, Firestone and Dayton brand tyres in the USA and Canada will be increased on June 1st. The price rises will affect both OE and replacement tyres and will be up to five per cent, although some off-the-road tyre prices could go up by eight per cent. The company says that it has taken steps to minimise the effects of rising raw material costs, but has been unable to offset them entirely, hence the price increase.
One Million Runflats For Bridgestone
Product NewsBridgestone has supplied its one millionth runflat tyre – more than any other manufacturer, claims the corporation. The first runflats were prod uced in the early 1980s for physically disabled motorists and Bridgestone’s first runflats for a production car were delivered in 1987 for the Porsche 959, then the world’s fastest production car. Since 1999, Bridgestone has supplied runflats as OE for nine vehicle models. The majority of the 1,000,000 runflats have been sold in Europe.
Ninth Award In A Row For Bridgestone
Product NewsBridgestone has picked up its ninth consecutive annual “Supplier of the Year” award from General Motors. The company was one of 77 winners, chosen from more than 3,500 suppliers to GM across the world.
F1 Cars Too Quick For Their Own Good?
MotorsportA report in the Financial Times suggests that, if Formula One cars continue to develop as they are, within three years they may be too fast for many F1 circuits. As an example, Michael Schumacher’s qualifying time for the Malaysian GP was four seconds faster than last year’s pole position time. The tyre rivalry between Bridgestone and Michelin is responsible for an improvement of over a second per lap, says the article, and it warns that, if development continues, steps may have to be taken to reduce the cars’ performances.
MRF Tops JD Power Study
Product NewsIn India, MRF has topped a JD Power study on OE tyre customer satisfaction for the third year running. More than 1,500 owners took part in the study, assessing tyres on 20 different attributes. Bridgestone, JK Tyre and Goodyear were behind MRF in the ratings. This year’s study was the first to deal solely with radials, as these account for nearly all tyres fitted to new passenger cars in India. The survey also revealed that more than 20 per cent of new-vehicle buyers choose the brand of tyres fitted on their new car.
Obituary – Sakip Sabanci
Product NewsSakip Sabanci passed away at 6:00 am on Saturday 10th April, following a long battle against cancer. He was 71. As head of the Sabanci group, he presided over the establishment of Lassa in 1974 and the later joint venture with Bridgestone in 1988, as a result of which the company name changed to Brisa. A new factory was built at Izmit and production began in November 1990. Married with three children, he was the author of 13 books and, during his lifetime, was awarded no fewer than 11 honorary doctorates by Turkish and US universities. Other awards include the Crystal Globe by the European Economic Institute and the Turkish State Distinguished Service Medal. In 1999 Sakip Sabanci was elected “Businessman of the Year” by the FABSIT foundation in New York and was given the “Award for promoting Turkey” by the Turkish-American Businessman Association. With an estimated fortune of 2.65 billion Euro, he was reckoned to be Turkey’s richest man.
Bridgestone extends motorsport involvement
Product NewsBridgestone Corporation has announced plans to supply tyres to competitors in a sweeping range of motorsport events in 2004. “Bridgestone technology has helped the world’s best racing teams win in Formula One and in other motorsport series, and we are determined to help them keep winning,” declared the company’s CEO, Shigeo Watanabe.
Winning ways continued for Bridgestone in Formula One in 2003. The company’s Potenza tyres carried Michael Schumacher and Ferrari to the drivers’ and constructors’ season championships. Bridgestone tyres have now been first across the finish line in a total of 79 F1 races.
In the 2004 F1 season, Bridgestone will again supply tyres to world champions Ferrari and to three other teams. That means that eight machines will be racing on Bridgestone Potenza tyres. The 2004 season got under way on March 7 with the Australian Grand Prix. This year’s F1 calendar features 18 races, culminating in the Brazilian Grand Prix on October 24.
IndyCar control tyre
Bridgestone’s Firestone brand will again be the sole tyre brand in the IndyCar Series, formerly known as the Indy Racing League. That racing series will include the Bridgestone Indy Japan 300 Mile at Japan’s Twin Link Motegi circuit on April 17. Altogether, the 2004 IndyCar Series will comprise of 16 races.
Domestic series too
Japan’s premier open-wheel racing series, Formula Nippon, will be another showcase for Bridgestone tyres in 2004. This year’s Formula Nippon series will consist of nine events, including a race at Malaysia’s Sepang Circuit.
Teams race on tyres from multiple manufacturers in the Japan GT Championship. But competitors equipped with Bridgestone tyres won seven of the eight races in the GT500 class of that series in 2003. The 2004 Japan GT Championship series will comprise of seven races. Bridgestone will also supply tyres for other Japanese auto racing series, including the Japan Gymkhana Championship, the All Japan Dirt Trial Championship, and the All Japan Rally Championship.
And on two wheels
Motorcycle racing also remains an important emphasis in Bridgestone’s motorsports program. At the pinnacle of motorcycle racing is the MotoGP series, and Bridgestone began supplying tyres to competitors in that series in 2002. The company will concentrate its support for grand prix motorcycle racing exclusively on MotoGP competition in 2004. A Bridgestone-equipped rider mounted a MotoGP victory podium for the first time in 2003. That was when Makoto Tamada achieved a third-place finish in the 12th race of the season.
After supplying tyres on just one MotoGP works team in 2003, Bridgestone will provide tyres to three works teams in the 2004 season. Those teams will be racing a total of five machines. In motorcycle racing besides grand prix events, Bridgestone will furnish tyres for the All Japan Road Race Championship, the All Japan Motocross Championship, and the AMA Supercross/National Series.
Bridgestone Europe Director For Nokian Board
Product NewsAt its Annual General Meeting, Nokian Tyres elected Mitsuhira Shimazaki, Director, Sales Administration, Bridgestone Europe, to the Nokian Tyres board of directors. A year ago, Bridgestone announced that it would take a stake in Nokian (nearly 19 per cent) for 78.34 million Euro. Also at the AGM, Nokian agreed to pay a dividend of 1.56 Euro per share.
Six gone at Maxiprest Board
Product NewsThe resignation of six directors from Bridgestone Firestone Maxiprest cost the company some experience but that has been remedied by some new appointments. The company still, however, lacks an MD. The reasons for all the resignations are not clear, but at the bottom of it appears to be a rift between 66 per cent owner Bridgestone Firestone SA and the tyre supplier’s management.
Maxiprest profits down in 2003
Product NewsBridgestone Firestone Maxiprest reports headline earnings per share of 1.4 cents for the year ended December – a sharp decline from earnings of 23.2 cents reported the previous year. The group reported a headline loss of 1.759 million Rand after a 21 million Rand profit the year before. At trading level, margins were maintained at 26 per cent, which was more than satisfactory given the pressure on pricing in the second half of the year end trading results from the African operations. The group said the results were impacted by charges approximating 24.6 million Rand relating to the strengthening on the Rand, the write-down of investments in African operations of 1.8 Rand and the provision for increased bad debt to 11.2 million Rand.
Japanese tyre makers boost Chinese output
Product NewsChinese media reports that Japanese tyre makers are poised to boost their production capacities in China. Bridgestone Corp. plans to launch a new plant in the eastern city of Wuxi in September and will also triple the monthly output capacity of an existing plant for truck and bus tyres in Shenyang, to 90,000 units. The moves will cost Bridgestone a total of around 20 billion yen (100 million pounds). Yokohama Rubber Co. is due to double the annual production capacity of its passenger car tyre plant in Hangzhou, to 1.4 million units. Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. will launch production in Changshu, Jiangsu Province, in April. Demand for passenger vehicle tyres in China grew to around 60 million units in 2003 and is expected to show an annual rise of 20 per cent in the future, demand for truck and bus tires, 80 million units last year, is forecast to grow even faster at over 40 per cent.
