Bridgestone has unveiled plans to build a new JPY35.5bn (US$455m) plant in Vietnam that will produce radial tyres for passenger cars (PSRs).
Production at the new plant will begin in the first half of 2014, with plans for production capacity of around 24,700 tyres per day after the ramp-up is completed in the first half of 2016.
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The new plant will serve as an export base for replacement tyres sold in the European, North American, and Japanese markets, primarily supplying PSRs for general use. Currently, Bridgestone has increased its production capacities at the Nong Khae Plant in Thailand and the Karawang Plant in Indonesia to supply PSRs to those markets.
However, Bridgestone says a new plant in Vietnam is necessary to respond to continuing growth in demand. In selecting the site, Bridgestone made an evaluation from a variety of perspectives, including infrastructure, location, workforce and cost. As a result of this evaluation, the Dinh Vu Industrial Zone in Hai Phong City, Vietnam was chosen as the site of the new plant.
The Bridgestone Group currently produces new tyres at 47 plants in 20 countries.
After the start-up of a new plant in India, a plant for large and ultra-large off-the-road radial tyres for construction and mining vehicles in the US and the new plant in Vietnam, Bridgestone will have 50 plants in 21 countries.
