Market and product

Global tyre manufacturer Bridgestone has announced it plans to invest €105m to expand production at one of two plants it operates in Poland.

The group intends to increase output at its passenger car tyres operation in Poznan by 5,600 units per day to meet growing European demand.

Bridgestone Europe said it will be in a position to start raising plant output from January 2012 and expects production to increase gradually to reach full capacity by January 2014. It plans to expand the workforce by 200 extra jobs towards the end of 2013, it stated.

The 12-year-old Poznan facility specialises in the production of ultra high performance and ‘run-flat’ tyres. Already, this 190,000 m2 plant, which employs 1,300, turns out 23,600 units a day.

“This expansion of the plant is an important step in increasing the locally sourced supply ratio for our European sales, as well as a recognition of our confidence in the quality of our workforce in Poznan,” Samon Isogai, senior vice-president, manufacturing at Bridgestone Europe.

The group also announced it plans to construct a second plant in India and has already begun to add capacity in Japan ahead of schedule.

(Source: http://www.prw.com/, By Richard Higgs)