Tokyo (Feb. 25, 2010) - Bridgestone Corporation today announced that its subsidiary in Thailand, Thai Bridgestone Co., Ltd., today hosted an opening ceremony for its newly established “Bridgestone Bandag Retread Center” (BBRC).

BBRC will contribute to the development of the retread and solutions business in Asia in three ways:

The BBRC began the production of retread tires using the Bandag process ^(*2) on February 1, 2010.

Targeting truck and bus tire customers, BBRC will provide solutions-based business offerings using the Bandag retread manufacturing process. The BBRC retread and solutions business contributes to effective environmental business management and the reduction of total tire-related costs of transportation fleets and other customers by providing a complete package of new tires, retread tires, and tire maintenance services.

BBRC will conduct training for retread shop technicians in both BBRC's company owned and franchise locations. The training will include production of retread tires using the Bandag manufacturing process, and instruction in the BBRC retread and solutions business method.

The BBRC facility features a state-of-the-art retread shop facility that maximizes worker productivity and comfort. Emphasizing the efficiency and economy of the Bandag manufacturing process, BBRC has plans to expand its network of retread franchises and promote its retread and solutions business.

The Bridgestone Group anticipates that the retread and solutions business will significantly grow in Asia. To prepare for this growth, the Bridgestone Group is constructing a retread materials plant in Thailand. Production at the facility is expected to begin in November of this year.

Retread tire manufacturing process

Opening ceremony

*1.	Tires are retreaded by removing the worn tread (the part of the tire that touches the road) and then adding new tread rubber and vulcanizing it so that the tire can be reused. Compared to new tires, retread tires can make a major environmental contribution in three ways.
1.  Retreading contributes to resource conservation. Compared to new tires, retread tires can reduce by two-thirds the consumption of raw materials such as natural rubber.     2.  Compared to new tire production, the retread process significantly reduces CO2 emissions generated in production.     3.  Retreading contributes to the reduction of the number of tires scrapped, thereby maximizing the total lifecycle of the tire.
*2.	The Bandag retread process uses pre-vulcanized tread rubber, which is applied to the tire casing and then vulcanized. This manufacturing process is also called the precure method. Reference: Image of the retread manufacturing process using Bandag method