Based in Japan, Bridgestone Corporation is the world’s largest tyre and rubber company.
Shares in Bridgestone rose 3.5 per cent on the news that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had decided not to re-open an investigation into 27.5 million Firestone Steeltex tyres. Bridgestone shares out-performed the Nikkei index in Tokyo, which rose 2.1 per cent to break through the 9,000 barrier for the first time.
Bridgestone Europe is best-known as a supplier of high performance tyres, thanks largely to its presence in Formula 1, but the company has reported that it is gaining OE business in all sectors of the car market, from micro cars to off-road vehicles. The latest OE successes for Bridgestone include the Peugeot 307 and Land Rover Freelander.
In the USA, Bridgestone/Firestone has turned more than 200 of the company’s trailers into mobile billboards, featuring images of tyres and vehicles. One side of the trailer features Bridgestone tyres fitted to an Enzo Ferrari, motorcycle, 18-wheeler and stylised Grand Prix racing car. The other side pictures Firestone agricultural and racing tyres, with pictures of a tractor and an Indy Car. The brand’s heritage is emphasised by a picture of Harvey Firestone.
John McNaught joined Bridgestone UK in February last year as Managing Director, moving from Continental, where he had been responsible for the company’s commercial tyre business. Since his move to Bridgestone, he has kept something of a low profile as he got to grips with his new position, but a year later, he agreed to talk to T&A about his plans for Bridgestone. The chance to move to Bridgestone came after about a year working for Continental and it was too good to turn down, he said. It was something of a departure after a career spent mostly in sales and distribution and an eye-opener; “I used to think that manufacturers had an easy life,” he admits.
The Bridgestone Turanza™ ER30 N-0 extra load tyre in size 255/55R18 109Y will be supplied as original equipment for the new Porsche Cayenne sport utility/crossover vehicle. Bridgestone has been an original equipment supplier to Porsche for more than 20 years and the company also provides tires for the Porsche 911 and Boxster.
Bridgestone Corporation announced that it has concluded its first-ever contract to supply tyres to Airbus S.A.S. The contract pertains to tyres for the ultra-advanced A380, a next-generation super jumbo airliner. Bridgestone will begin supplying tyres to Airbus for the nose and main landing gear of the A380 on the fourth quarter of 2005. The A380 Airbus, which will carry 555 passengers, is in the early stages of manufacturing. Airbus’s plans call for the plane to go into commercial service in early 2006.
Bridgestone is to build a factory in China’s Jiangsu Province to make anti-vibration products for automobiles, both for the domestic market and export. Total investment in the four hectare site will be US$ 16 million, with production planned to start late 2004 and reaching 150,000 units a month in 2005. The plant, which will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, will operate as Bridgestone (Changzhou) Automotive Products Co. Ltd.
One of the ugliest corporate feuds in the United States has quietly come to an end. After 97 years of business and even close relations between the two families, Bridgestone-Firestone delivered its last batch of tyres to the Ford Motor Co.’s Kansas City assembly plant on the first of April. This final delivery marks the ending of one of the biggest and most expensive tyre recalls – accompanied by a lot of finger pointing and heated rhetoric – ever recorded in automotive history. The trigger for this disastrous story was a number of car accidents at the end of the last decade. Accidents that were supposedly caused by deficient car tyres, produced by Bridgestone-Firestone.
The Bridgestone group has received a Supplier of the Year award from General Motors for the eighth year running. This is in recognition of products (both Bridgestone and Firestone brand tyres) and services provided globally to GM by Bridgestone. The award was accepted by Bridgestone Corporation executive vice president Keisuke Suzuki at a ceremony held in the Miracle Theatre in Miami recently. Said GM’s vice president, worldwide purchasing production control and logistics, Bo Andersson: “The Bridgestone Group’s performance and contributions have been instrumental in helping GM to become the industry’s low-cost producer of high-quality vehicles. They serve as a role model for other suppliers.”
Bridgestone Corp. has begun raising tyre prices by between 3 and 5 per cent in Asia, Oceania, the Middle East and Africa to cover rising costs of raw materials. The increases will cover Bridgestone and Firestone radial and bias passenger, light truck, truck and bus tyres. Prices in the Japanese market will not be affected. Bridgestone has been implementing the price increases in stages since March 1 to compensate for the rising costs of raw materials, including natural rubber, synthetic rubber, carbon black and some chemical additives.
The United Steelworkers of America (USWA) has announced that it is beginning master contract negotiations with Goodyear in Cincinnati. The talks will address contracts covering 20,000 members and 22,000 retirees across the U.S. USWA International Vice President Andrew V. Palm will lead the USWA Goodyear/Kelly-Springfield/Dunlop bargaining team. “The security of our members’ jobs, wages, benefits and retirement earnings are our paramount concern,” he stated. “We are convinced that Goodyear can return to profitability while also ensuring these basic protections. We do not intend to allow the company to restructure itself on the backs of its workers. If they don’t see us as part of the solution, it will only compound problems.”
Bridgestone B380 RFT run-flat tyres, size P225/60 R17, will be an option on the redesigned 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan for the US market. Other Bridgestone run-flat OE options in the USA include the Lexus SC430, BMW 7-series, BMW Z4, Z8 and Nissan Infinity Q45. Says Mark Emkes, Chairman, CEO and President of Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, “This latest minivan fitment shows consumers that run-flat tyres are not just for performance cars, but are available to anyone who wants extra peace of mind.”
Bridgestone is to invest 1.7 billion Thai Baht (36.2 million Euros) in a new plant to produce carbon black. The factory, which will be sited in Rayong, Thailand, will begin production next year, with an annual capacity of 40,000 tons. It will be operated by the subsidiary company Bridgestone Carbon Black Thailand Co. and it is thought that the majority of output will go for export.
The Zimbabwe government’s price controls have impacted on the tyre sector and forced vehicle operators to lay off vehicles. Tyres are now being sought after on the black market after local manufacturer, Dunlop downsized operations due to price controls. Firestone and Bridgestone are no longer imported. Only a small number of Goodyear tyres were escaping the price restrictions and supplies have all but dried up. Some transport operators have resorted to bulk buying and bypassing dealers and importing tyres for themselves.
Bridgestone has announced that it is to build its third tyre plant in China at Wuxi, Jiangsu province. The plant, which will be the first one in China wholly owned by Bridgestone, will produce 8,000 car radial tyres a day for the domestic and export markets, starting from September next year. Bridgestone says that the investment totals $99 million and the company plans investments in its other factories to increase production of car, truck and bus tyres.
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