Bridgestone To Produce Tyres In Vietnam

Bridgestone Corporation announced that it has held a groundbreaking ceremony, attended by Mr. Hoang Trung Hai, Deputy Prime Minister of Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, some other government officials and business partners, at Dinh Vu Industrial Zone of Haiphong City, Vietnam, where Bridgestone Group plans to build a new plant for passenger car radial (PSR) tires.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Kazuhisa Nishigai, COO and Representative Board Member of Bridgestone Corporation referred to the outlook for the growing global market led by Asia and the role this new plant will play in it. He said, “The Bridgestone Group wants to contribute to the economic development of Vietnam and Haiphong City through our business, including employment and personnel development of employees we work with. In view of the growing demand for tires globally, this plant will play an important role in our business operations to meet the needs of our customers around the world”.

Following the speech by Nishigai, Susumu Yazaki, President of Bridgestone Tire Manufacturing Vietnam Limited Liability Company, also expressed his enthusiasm for the plant construction and the start-up of the business. After the speech, attendees were given the opportunity to exchange opinions and views, and to get acquainted with one another.

The new plant will serve as an export base for replacement tires sold in the European, North American, and Japanese markets, primarily supplying PSRs for general use. In addition to increasing its production capacities at the Nong Khae Plant in Thailand and the Karawang Plant in Indonesia to supply PSRs to these markets, Bridgestone decided that a new plant in Vietnam was necessary to respond to the continuing growth in demand. Operations will begin in March 2014 and upon completion of construction in the first half of 2016, its production capacity is expected to reach 24,700 tires per day.

Credits: wilswong