News - 2013

Tokyo (April 30, 2013) - Bridgestone Corporation today announced that a foundation stone laying ceremony was held at the future site of the Bridgestone group's new plant in Thailand that will produce off-the-road radial tires for construction and mining vehicles (ORRs). The ceremony was held on April 29, 2013.

The ceremony was attended by representatives from the industrial estate where the site is located, and also from the company that will build the plant. The Bridgestone Group representatives present at the ceremony included Masaaki Tsuya, CEO and Representative Board Member of Bridgestone Corporation, and Shigeru Kaneko, Managing Director of Bridgestone Specialty Tire Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (BSTMT), the company that will operate the new plant. In accord with tradition, the ceremony included prayers for the success of the plant's building, after which the attendees put the foundation stone in place, giving their blessings for the company's ongoing prosperity.

Bridgestone's ORRs are used on vehicles in mines, quarries, harbors, and construction sites around the world. In the past, the Group has produced these tires exclusively in Japan and the United States. By constructing this new plant in Thailand, we will be able to establish an optimal ORR production system that will enable us to respond to growing tire demand, and also to any future changes that might occur in the operating environment. The new plant is scheduled to begin production in the first half of 2015, and total production capacity is expected to reach approximately 85 tons by the first half of 2019.

Moving forward, the Bridgestone Group will continue to develop a global production system necessary to provide our customers with the high-quality products they demand, while also responding quickly to changes in market demand.

< Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony>
Masaaki Tsuya, CEO and Representative Board Member of Bridgestone Corporation
(fifth from the left)