Oct 26 2005
Bridgestone Corporation has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary in China, Bridgestone (Shenyang) Steel Cord Co., Ltd., held the official opening today for a plant producing steel cord in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. Bridgestone invested US$94.3 million in the construction of the plant, which began producing steel cord for truck and bus radial tires in August this year. Production capacity is projected to reach 70 tons per day by the end of 2007.
About 100 people attended the opening ceremony, including Chinese government and municipal officials such as Song Qi, deputy mayor of Shenyang. Heading the Bridgestone contingent were Masaharu Oku, the board of director, vice president and senior officer responsible for tire production and distribution, Hiromichi Odagiri, vice president and senior officer, chief representative of Bridgestone tire operations in China, Kaoru Fujioka, vice president and officer in charge of steel cord, and various other plant officials.
"It is very rare for an organization to have three separate companies - Bridgestone (Shenyang) Steel Cord Co., Ltd., Shenyang Bridgestone Co., Ltd. and Bridgestone (Shenyang) Tire Co., Ltd. - in the same region," explained Oku in his address at the opening ceremony. "This demonstrates the close relationship and deep trust between Shenyang City and Bridgestone. Going forward, we will strengthen this bond and strive to further contribute to the development of Shenyang City and Liaoning Province."
This is Bridgestone Group's sixth steel cord plant worldwide. It joins the Kuroiso and Saga Plants in Japan, the Clarksville Plant in the United States, the Cagliari Plant in Italy and the Rayong Plant in Thailand. A seventh plant in Huizhou, China is currently under construction.
Expanding in-house production capacity in raw materials for tires and for diversified products is a strategic priority in the Bridgestone Group. For example, Bridgestone Group companies produce synthetic rubber in the United States and carbon black in Japan and Thailand. Bridgestone Group companies operate rubber plantations in Indonesia and in Liberia. Those capabilities also help ensure reliable supplies of consistently high-quality raw materials for Bridgestone Group tire plants worldwide.
http://www.bridgestone.co.jp