Bridgestone Corporation

Company Profile

■URL

https://www.bridgestone.com/

■Address

1-1,Kyobashi 3-chome,Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-8340, Japan

Business Overview

-Along with Goodyear and Michelin, the Company is one of the three major tire manufacturers in the world. The company had a 12.5% market share of tires worldwide in 2021, which was announced by the company in June 2023.

-Overseas production will account for 73% of the company's global tire production tonnage in 2022.

-The main manufacturing subsidiaries and controlled companies by region are as follows:

Region Major companies
Japan Management, manufacturing, and sales Bridgestone
Americas Management USA Bridgestone Americas, Inc.
Manufacture and sale of tires USA Bridgestone Americas, Inc.
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC
Bridgestone Bandag, LLC
Canada Bridgestone Canada Inc.
Mexico Bridgestone de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.
Brazil Bridgestone do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda.
Argentina Bridgestone Argentina S.A.I.C.
Europe, Russia, Middle East, India, Africa Management and sales Belgium Bridgestone Europe NV/SA
Manufacture and sale of tires Poland Bridgestone Poznan Sp. Z.O.O.
Bridgestone STARGARD Sp. Z.O.O.
Spain Bridgestone Hispania Manufacturing S.L.U.
India Bridgestone India Private Ltd.
South Africa Bridgestone South Africa (PTY) Ltd.
China, Asia/Oceania Supervision and sales Singapore Bridgestone Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.
China Bridgestone (China) Investment Co., Ltd.
Manufacture and sale of tires China Bridgestone (Wuxi) Tire Co., Ltd.
Thailand Thai Bridgestone Co., Ltd.
Bridgestone Tire Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
Indonesia P.T. Bridgestone Tire Indonesia

Shareholders

-Listed on the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and on the Fukuoka Stock Exchange. (As of Dec. 31, 2022)
Name or Company name Investment Ratio (%)
The Master Trust Bank of Japan, Ltd. (Trust Account) 15.15
Ishibashi Foundation 11.21
Custody Bank of Japan, Ltd. (Trust Account) 5.82
SMBC Nikko Securities 3.28
Individual shareholder 3.07
Nagasaka Sangyo 2.99
Nippon Life Insurance Company 1.93
Japan Securities Finance Co., Ltd. 1.65
JPMorgan Securities Japan Co., Ltd. 1.58
STATE STREET BANK WEST CLIENT - TREATY 505234 1.56
Total 47.64

Products

Tires
-Various tires, tubes and aluminum wheels for cars
-Various tires, tubes and aluminum wheels for trucks and buses
-Various tires, tubes and aluminum wheels for light trucks
-Automotive accessories

History

Mar. 1931 Established the Company as Bridgestone Tire Corporation in Kurume, Fukuoka and started production of automotive tires
Oct. 1935 Started production of golf balls
Apr. 1937 Started production of anti-vibration rubber
May, 1937 Moved headquarters to Tokyo
Sep. 1937 Started production of belts and hoses
Feb. 1942 Changed the Company name to Japan Tire Corporation
Oct. 1949 Spun off bicycle business and established Bridgestone Bicycle Co., Ltd. (currently Bridgestone Cycle Co., Ltd.)
Feb. 1951 Changed the Company name back to Bridgestone Tire Corporation
Aug. 1959 Started production of polyurethane foam (Everlight)
Oct. 1961 Listed on Tokyo and Osaka Stock Exchanges
May, 1965 Established a joint venture, Bridgestone Imperial Eastman Corporation (currently Bridgestone Flowtech Corporation)
June, 1967 Established Thai Japan Tire Co., Ltd. (currently Thai Bridgestone Co., Ltd.), a joint venture in Thailand
Feb. 1970 Established a joint venture, Bridgestone Kurebeit (currently Bridgestone Elastic Corporation)
Sep. 1972 Established a joint venture, Bridgestone Spalding Co., Ltd. (currently Bridgestone Sports Co.,Ltd.)
Sep. 1973 Established a joint venture in India, P.T. Bridgestone Tire Indonesia.
Oct. 1980 Invested capital in a rubber company based in China. The company later became Bridgestone Taiwan Co., Ltd.
Dec. 1980 Acquired shares in Uniroyal Holdings Ltd. in Australia (currently Bridgestone Australia Ltd.
Nov. 1982 Established Bridgestone Tire Manufacturing (U.S.A.), Inc. in USA (merged with Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. in May 1990)
Apr. 1984 Changed the Company name to Bridgestone Corporation
Jan. 1988 Established Bridgestone Finance Europe B.V. in the Netherlands
May, 1988 Acquired the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. (Currently Bridgestone/Firestone Inc.)
Nov. 1988 Invested capital in Assa Lastik Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.Sizmit Factory in Turkey. (currently Brisa Bridegstone Sabanci Lastik Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.S.)
Jan. 1989 Established Bridgestone Finance Corporation.
Jan. 1993 Integrated sporting goods business into Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd.
Dec. 1994 Integrated sale/distribution of tires and management in Europe into Bridgestone /Firestone Europe S.A.
Dec. 1994 Established BMAH Corp. in the USA.
Jan. 1997 Acquired Fedstone (PTY) Ltd. (currently Bridgestone/Firestone South Africa Holdings (PTY) Ltd.)
May, 1988 Acquired The Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. (currently Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc.)
Jan. 2000 Set up a new plant, Bridgestone/Firestone Poland Ltd. Liability Company in Poland and started production. The first production facility in Eastern Europe
Jan. 2000 Acquired Tianjin Jinhu Tire Co.,Ltd. in China from Kumuho Virgin Island in Korea. Purchased for 7.9 billion yen all the shares held by Kumuho (94.5%). The Company's second production facility in China and forty-sixth in the world
Feb. 2000 Tied up with PAULSTRA of Group totaltina in France. Entered into joint development of anti-vibration automotive rubber and a mutual production contract. The two companies together hold 15% share of the global market. Established global supply system for automotive manufacturers in Japan, USA, Europe and Asia
Feb. 2000 Founded Iwata Seisakusho and entered into new business areas of clean energy and IT, including high performance-film, precision rubber and plastic products.
July. 2000 Started development of suspension-related modular systems jointly with Akebono and Kayaba. Bridgestone covers tires and anti-vibration rubber, Akebono brakes and Kayaba shock absorbers. Aiming to be a supplier, which can make proposals, has the capability for comprehensive development, and can cope with modularization based on joint technical communication.
Nov. 2000 Founded a new technical center. As the center of the Company's global R&D, it communicates closely with affiliates in the USA and Europe, as well as testing facilities worldwide
Mar. 2001 As part of the Company's 70th anniversary, opened "Bridgestone Today," a museum for tires and rubber.
Dec. 2001 Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc is a regional headquarters in the US. The company reorganized its corporate structure by spinning off operation by business under Bridgestone/irestone Americas Holdings, Inc.
Oct. 2004 Established Bridgestone (China) Investment Co., Ltd., in China.
May 2007 Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc. acquired Bridgestone Bandag, LLC.
2008 Concluded a memorandum of agreement with Toyo Rubber Company, Ltd. to form a business and capital partnership.
2009 Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc. (BSAH) was changed to Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM).
May 2016 Bridgestone Americas sold Bridgestone Firestone Venezolana (BFVZ), a tire-production subsidiary, to the Corimon Group.
May 2017 Bridgestone Europe NV/SA acquired French tire chain Ayme group.
Apr. 2019 Bridgestone Europe acquires TomTom Telematics (now Webfleet Solutions).
Sep. 2021 Bridgestone Americas Inc. acquired Azuga Holdings, Inc.
Dec. 2021 Sold all of the stock shares held in Bridgestone (Huizhou) Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd. (BSRC), which is a Group company that manufactures and sells tires for passenger cars, to LCY Chemical Corporation (LCY).
Dec. 2021 Consolidated the operations of both Bridgestone (Shenyang) Tire Co., Ltd (BSSY) and Bridgestone (Huizhou) Tire Co., Ltd (BSHZ) all into BSSY.
Aug. 2022 Spun off the chemical solutions business.
Sep. 2022 Completed the transfer of the anti-vibration rubber business.

Supplemental Information 1