Tokyo (February 16, 2012)-Bridgestone Corporation announced today that it will increase the production capacity of its Kitakyushu Plant for large and ultralarge off-the-road radial tires for construction and mining vehicles (large and ultralarge ORRs). The increased production capacity will help the Bridgestone Group to meet the growing global demand for these products. The plan calls for production capacity to be increased by approximately 20 tons per day, to approximately 165 tons per day, in the first half of 2014. In addition, the Bridgestone Group has decided to increase its production capacity of its Saga Plant for steel cord used in large and ultralarge ORRs. The total investment will be approximately ¥4.7 billion.

Bridgestone's large and ultralarge ORRs, which utilize the Group's advanced technical capabilities, are highly regarded in the marketplace, and demand is expected to be strong over the medium to long term due to increased mining production worldwide. To meet this growing demand, the Group not only plans to implement phase 3 of the expansion of its Kitakyushu Plant to start in the second half of 2012, but also to build a new plant in Aiken County, South Carolina, U.S., to produce large and ultralarge ORRs with tire production scheduled to begin in the first half of 2014, as announced on September of 2011.
However, the Group determined that it would need to implement a further expansion of the Kitakyushu Plant to meet customer demand promptly.

Moving forward, the Group will build a production system that can continually respond rapidly to changes in market demand trends and can supply customers with world-class quality products on a timely basis.