Tokyo (July 13, 2012)-On July 12, the Bridgestone Corporation held the 2012 Equipment Maintenance Skills Competition at the company's Global Manufacturing Education Center (G-MEC) building in Kodaira City, Tokyo.

Since 1977 Bridgestone has hosted the Equipment Maintenance Skills Competition with the objective of promoting maintenance skills training throughout the global Bridgestone Group. The slogan for this year's competition was "Extending the Study of Equipment Maintenance Skills Around the Globe." Fifty seven teammates participated in the year's competition, including five from overseas such as China and Turkey.

<The day of the competition>

"We would like to continue raising the company's manufacturing quality standards through the Equipment Maintenance Skills Competition" said Yoshiharu Inoue, Vice President and Officer, Global Manufacturing Education at the opening ceremony.

Bridgestone established the G-MEC in 2007 as a global development venue to train employees involved in all areas of manufacturing - including tires, diversified products and raw materials. The company has a plan to utilize the Equipment Maintenance Skills Competition as a way to continue raising the company's manufacturing quality standards through proactive training.