Bridgestone Corporation on Wednesday announced tyre production increases at its Indian and Indonesian operations.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
In a statement, the Tokyo-based tyre maker said its subsidiary Bridgestone India (BSID) would expand production capacity at its passenger car and light truck radial tyre plant in Indore, India, to meet burgeoning demand spurred by a booming domestic market.
Meanwhile, PT Bridgestone Tyre Indonesia would increase capacity at its similar plant in Karawang, Indonesia in response to growing demand, in this case mainly for export markets.
The Indore plant started operations in 1998, making tyres for the local market.
“The economy in India is currently expanding rapidly, and the number of automobiles owned is increasing. In line with this, BSID forecasts strong demand for tyres going forward,” the OEM and aftermarket supplier said.
“As a means to bolster its ability to meet growing demand in higher rim diameter category, BSID decided to increase production capacity at its Indore plant. Approximately JPY6bn has been earmarked for investment in the expansion work. BSID has projected to increase daily production capacity by 4,500 tyres to a total of 15,000 by 2010.”
The Karawang plant started production in 1999, supplying Indonesian and other overseas markets.
“The production expansion will enable better response mainly in high-performance tyres, which will strengthen its position as Bridgestone Group’s supply source of strategic product,” the company said.
“Approximately JPY15.5bn will be spent on the project, with daily production capacity projected to increase by 8,400 tyres to 27,000 by 2010.”
As tyre demand is expected to continue growing worldwide, Bridgestone intends to create the optimal global production and logistics system “in a strategic manner”, the statement added.
