1. Home
2. Supplier Database
3. Major Suppliers
4. Bridgestone Corporation
5. Bridgestone Corporation Business Report FY ended Dec. 2019

Bridgestone Corporation Business Report FY ended Dec. 2019

Factors
Tire Division
-In Japan, the sales volume of tires for passenger cars and light-duty trucks, and tires for heavy-duty trucks and buses remained unchanged from the previous year. On the other hand, in North America, Europe, China, Asia, and Oceania, sales of tires for passenger cars and light-duty trucks, and tires for heavy-duty trucks and buses decreased from the previous year.

Acquisition of TomTom Telematics (currently Webfleet Solutions)

-TomTom announced the sale of its telematics business to Bridgestone Europe NV/SA (“Bridgestone”), a subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation in EMEA, for a purchase price of EUR 910 million. This transaction allows the telematics business to accelerate its growth trajectory and TomTom to become a more focused and agile company, shaping the future of driving with highly accurate maps, navigation software and real-time traffic information and services. The acquisition will strengthen Bridgestone’s digital technology arm. The sale of the telematics business is expected to close by the end of the second quarter of 2019, followed by the capital repayment combined with a share consolidation to be executed in the third quarter of 2019. (From a press release on January 22, 2019)

-Bridgestone Europe NV/SA (“Bridgestone”), a subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation in EMEA, announced the successful completion of the acquisition of TomTom Telematics for EUR 910million. Bridgestone will accelerate its digital transformation and status as preferred partner in mobility solutions. TomTom will operate within Bridgestone as a standalone business while taking advantage of the brand equity, large customer base, global reach and retail network of Bridgestone, and accelerate the current growth plans in Europe and other regions. (From a press release on April 1, 2019)

-Bridgestone Europe announced that TomTom Telematics’ company name will become Webfleet Solutions as of October 1, 2019. The acquisition of TomTom Telematics was motivated by Bridgestone’s ambition to strengthen its digital capabilities, as part of its ongoing transformation from a premium tyre producer into a mobility solutions leader. The new Bridgestone company is Europe’s number one provider of fleet solutions, a double-digit growth industry.  The EMEA business now serves over 1.2 million vehicles with mobility subscriptions and fleet solutions. The acquisition has reinforced Bridgestone’s footprint in data-based solutions that make fleet operations more effective and efficient. Now, the newly-named Webfleet Solutions – inspired by its main solution platform WEBFLEET, reflects Bridgestone’s ambition to provide a wider range of digital mobility and fleet solutions to its customers and consolidate a global leadership position. (From a press release on September 9, 2019)

-Bridgestone Corporation held a press conference at its head office on November 29 where Chairman of the Board and CEO Masaaki Tsuya indicated the company’s plans to expand solution services. The company will add value to the performance of its products and the maintenance of them by utilizing digital technologies. The company will roll out such solution services through its global network and step up efforts to change to a “mobility solution contributor” that supports mobility. Bridgestone acquired Netherlands-based TomTom Telematics, which handles fleet management, in April and renamed TomTom Telematics to Webfleet Solutions in October. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on December 2, 2019)

Major Contracts

-Major contracts gained in FY ended Dec. 2019

※From various news releases

Awards

-Bridgestone announced that it honored with Excellent Performance Award by Mazda Motor Corporation. Mazda appreciated its efforts for contributing to mass production launch, production increase, and purchase activities. The Company is the only awardee among tire manufactures. (From a press release on April 9, 2019)

Business Partnership

-Bridgestone Europe NV (Bridgestone) and Iris Capital announced a corporate venture partnership to investigate and invest in innovative new mobility services, industry 4.0 and digital transformation technologies across Europe, the Middle-East and Africa. As a partner to Iris Capital, Bridgestone joins industry leaders such as Orange, Publicis and Valeo, all sponsors to IrisNext. As new mobility and digital transformation are key topics for the whole automotive industry, Bridgestone and Iris Capital will work together to support the best entrepreneurs with the industrial expertise from Bridgestone and Iris Capital’s experience as funder of start-ups such as Careem, Mojio, Mister Auto, Unu Motors and Cobi. (From a press release on January 17, 2019)

R&D Facilities

 
R&D Facilities in Japan

R&D Facilities Outside Japan

Product Development

Exhibit at CES 2020 (airless tires)
-Bridgestone Corporation announced that it will make first-ever appearance at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The company will spotlight a number of mobility solutions that enable an autonomous future with a focus on extended mobility, improved safety and increased efficiency. The company will demonstrate how airless tires from Bridgestone combine a tire's tread and wheel into one durable, high-strength structure. This design eliminates the need for tires to be filled and maintained with air, and essentially erases the dangers and downtime associated with a flat tire.  It will demonstrate how its digital twin and connected tire technology can be used to generate specific, actionable predictions that can enhance the precision of vehicle safety systems. At CES, consumers will be able to view a simulation of the platform in motion to see how telematics power a connected vehicle ecosystem, transforming the way business will be done around the world by advancing safety and improving cost efficiency. (From a press release on December 18, 2019)

Smart Strain Sensor
-Bridgestone Corporation announced that it has developed Smart Strain Sensor, a technology capable of estimating wheel axle load and tire wear conditions. In addition to the standard features of a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) such as tracking tire inflation pressure and temperature, the Smart Strain Sensor is able to measure dynamic change in strain that occurs when a tire is in use. A proprietary algorithm is applied to convert data gathered by the sensor into tire load and wear information, which is then collected and sent to the cloud. The new technology is able to acquire reliable data even at low speeds. (From a press release on December 18, 2019)

Tire replacing virgin carbon black
-Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM), the U.S. subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, has commercialized a tire that replaces virgin carbon black, a material of tires, with recovered carbon black (rCB). The rCB is recovered from end-of-life (EOL) tires by thermal decomposition. By the end of 2020, BSAM plans to increase the use of rCB to approx. 6,800 tons, equivalent to about 2 million EOL passenger car tires, and reduce about 10,900 tons of carbon emissions. Some tires marketed by BSAM include rCB made by Delta-Energy Group, LLC, which is in partnership with BSAM. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on November 26, 2019)

Exhibit at IAA 2019
-Bridgestone announced that it will be showcasing its comprehensive portfolio and revealing the pioneering work that is helping to shape the future of mobility at IAA 2019. The company is transforming from a premium tire producer to a mobility solution leader. In response to the challenges now faced by road users, Bridgestone will showcase its solutions and digital applications such as Bridgestone Connect and MOBOX. It will also exhibit NEXTFLEET and WEBFLEET, both introduced to the Bridgestone portfolio following the acquisition of TomTom Telematics in April 2019. As for tire technologies, Bridgestone will present Enliten, B-Silent, Run-Flat Technology, B-Seal, and ologic technology. These technologies can be found on Bridgestone’s OE tires for many premium car brands such as Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. It will display products including Blizzak LM005, Turanza T005, Weather Control A005 and Firestone line-up Winterhawk 3, Roadhawk, Multiseason GEN 02. (From a press release on August 12, 2019)

Exhibit at 2019 Shanghai Auto Show
-Bridgestone announced that it will run a booth at 2019 Shanghai Auto Show. The company will display its newly developed materials “High Strength Rubber” which has better performance than natural rubber, as well as its new generation’s fuel efficient tires. (From a press release on April 11, 2019)

New studless Blizzak ICE winter touring tire
-Bridgestone announced that new studless Blizzak ICE winter touring tire. It has been designed in meet the needs and expectations of drivers as highlighted in targeted market research studies. The tire delivers outstanding snow and ice performance, superior ride comfort and significantly increases wear life. Engineered with an all-new tread compound that features the company’s patented Multicell technology, the Blizzak ICE delivers improved stopping distance on ice. Bridgestone Multicell technology is specially formulated with hydrophilic properties that attract water and draw it away from the surface of ice to enhance grip. The Blizzak ICE tire has not made any compromises on tire life. While achieving an 8% reduction in braking distance on ice, it has increased the wear life by 25% compared to its predecessor. (From a press release on May 3, 2019)
 

Investment in Japan

-On May 20, the Company announced that it will purchase approximately 140,000 square meters of land adjacent to its Kitakyushu Plant for JPY 2.4 billion. The acquired land is expected to be used for tire production although specific plans have yet to be worked out. On March 29 Bridgestone concluded a provisional agreement with Kitakyushu City on municipal property trading. The provisional agreement will be turned into a formal agreement after the city’s council approves it in June. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on May 22, 2019)

Investment Outside Japan

<Thailand>
-Bridgestone Specialty Tire Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, held an opening ceremony for its new factory for radial tires for construction and mining vehicles in Thailand. The new plant which is located on 870,000 square meters area at Amata City Industrial Estate, Rayong and has production capacity of approximately 35 tons per day will function as the first factory producing radial tires for construction and mining vehicles in an Asian country other than Japan, and has thus been positioned as one of the company's global supply bases. The opening of the new factory will make it possible for the Bridgestone Group to construct a production and supply system that can furnish flexible responses to medium- to long-term changes in demand. (From a press release on October 25, 2019)

<Turkey>
-Lassa Tyres informed that Brisa Bridgestone Sabancı Tyre Manufacturing Inc.'s  Aksaray plant, a 300 million USD joint investment of Sabancı Holding and Bridgestone Corporation, will produce 4.2 million units once it reaches full capacity. Lassa Tyres is selling tires produced at the plant. The plant is showcasing best examples of Industry 4.0 applications. The tires are exported to 56 countries. Lassa Tyres is increasing its competitive power with value added production applications like fully automatic tire transfer system, simultaneous tire tracking through the digital twin of the plant in a cyber platforms and augmented reality. The digital twin set-up in a cyber environment enables operators to follow-up tires with remote technology and intervene any problems at most in 2 minutes. Tires are produced with 0 defect at the plant which also adds value to the environment by consuming 30% less energy. Raw materials are transferred using a closed circuit system and Solar panels placed in the administrative building help produce electricity and all rain and wastewater is fed back to the system. (From a press release on October 25, 2019)

<Hungary>
-HIPA informed that the Company will reach the quantity of 7.2 million tires/year by 2020.  In order to serve the increasing capacity, EUR 29.5 million investment was raised to expand warehouse capacity of its factory in Tatabanya to one and a half times, exceeding 600,000 tires. In the framework of the recently concluded project worth HUF 9.2 billion, the production capacity of the machinery using Artificial Intelligence-based EXAMATION digital production technology was increased, 60% of products of the factory in Tatabanya is now produced with this technology. (From HIPA press release on September 3, 2019)