Bridgestone Americas, Inc. Business Report FY2011

Business Highlights

Financial Overview

(in billion JPY)
  FY2011 FY2010 Rate of change (%) Factors
Sales 12,886 1,223.9 5.3 -Sales of tires for passenger vehicles and small trucks fell below the previous year's results because of falling demand in the OEM tire segment. But, sales of runflat tires, ultra high-performance tires, and winter tires to automakers were favorable, surpassing the volumes sold in 2010.
-Sales of tires for trucks and buses largely exceeded the previous year's volumes.
Operating income 619 48.3 28.2

Contracts

-Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO), a business unit of Bridgestone Americas, Inc., announced that its Firestone-brand FR710 tire is standard original equipment on the all-new 2011 Chrysler 300 Limited and 300C. BATO will supply the FR710 tires in size P225/60R18 99T. When equipped with the optional Touring-tuned suspension, the 2011 Chrysler 300 Limited and 300C models feature 245/45R20 99V Firestone-brand Firehawk GT tires. (From a press release on May 10, 2011)

-Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO), a business unit of Bridgestone Americas, Inc., announced that it has realigned two of its divisions, Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions (BBTS) and Off Road Tire, U.S. & Canada Tire Sales, into one new group, Bridgestone Commercial Solutions Group. BBTS manufactures and sells medium and heavy-duty truck tires for the original equipment market in North America. (From a press release on May 5, 2011)

-Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO), a business unit of Bridgestone Americas, Inc., announced that its Firestone-brand Firehawk GT(TM) tires are an original equipment option on the new 2012 Fiat 500. BATO will supply the new Fiat 500 Pop and 500 Lounge models with Firestone-brand Firehawk GT tires in size 185/55R15 82H. (From a press release on May 3, 2011)

-Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO), a business unit of Bridgestone Americas, Inc., announced that its Firestone Firehawk GT Pursuit tires are an original equipment fitment for the 2011 Chrysler Dodge Charger Pursuit. The tire size is P225/60R18. (From a press release on April 29, 2011)

-The Company announced that its Firestone-brand Firehawk GT tires are optional original equipment on the 2011 Chrysler Dodge Charger and the 2011 Dodge Challenger. BATO will supply the tires in size 245/45R20 99V. The Firehawk GT tires are included as original equipment on the Dodge Charger with R/T Plus, R/T Road & Track, R/T Max packages and Wheels & Tunes and Rallye Appearance Groups. The same tires are offered as original equipment on the Dodge Challenger SE with Super Sport Group and available on the Challenger R/T models. (From a press release on February 8, 2011)

Award

-The Company was awarded the 2010 General Motors Supplier of the Year Award in March 2011. This is the thirteenth time Bridgestone Corporation has been given the award. General Motors honored 82 suppliers out of the 20,000 suppliers eligible for the award. (From a press release on March 21, 2011)

R&D

R&D Facilities

Technical Center Akron, Ohio, USA
Proving Ground Fort Stockton, Texas, USA
Proving Ground Columbiana, Ohio, USA
Proving Ground Acuna, Mexico
Proving Ground San Pedro, Brazil

Investment Activities

- Bridgestone Corporation announced that its subsidiary, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC, will establish a new plant in South Carolina to produce large and ultra-large, off-the-road radial (ORR) tires for construction and mining vehicles. The company will invest about 970 million dollars (approximately 82.5 billion yen) in this project, planning production launch in the first half of 2014. This will be the first time for Bridgestone to manufacture large and ultra-large ORR tires outside Japan. Up until now, the company has been producing these tires exclusively in Japan at its Shimonoseki Plant and Kitakyushu Plant. The new facility will be located on 2,210,000 square meters in Aiken County, South Carolina. By the first half of 2020, when the expansion project is scheduled to be completed, the plant will be able to turn out 130 tons of ORR tires a day with a workforce of some 550. In line with the increase, Bridgestone will raise its production capacity also at its Saga Plant in Japan and the Clarksville Plant of Bridgestone Metalpha U.S.A. in Tennessee, U.S.A. which are making steel cords used in ORR tires.(From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on September 27, 2011)

- Bridgestone Corporation announced that Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC (BATO) has decided to increase further its capacity to produce radial tires for passenger cars and light trucks at its Aiken Plant in South Carolina to meet growing demand for these tires in North America. Bridgestone is investing 211 million dollars (approximately 18 billion yen) in the project to raise the plant’s daily production capacity by approximately 8,000 tires to 37,750 tires by the third quarter of 2015. The Aiken facility began operations in 1998. It now has the capacity to manufacture 25,000 tires a day, mainly for radial tires for the North American market. BATO announced in July 2011 that it would augment its daily production capacity in Aiken by 4,750 tires a day by the first quarter of 2013. It has decided to step up its expansion project so as to meet the steadily growing demand in the market.(From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on September 26, 2011)

- Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO), a business unit of Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM), announced that it will invest 36.6 million USD in its Warren County, Tennessee, U.S. plant to increase production capacity by an additional 900 truck and bus tires per day. The expansion is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2013, reaching full production in the fourth quarter of that year. The investment is part of a comprehensive expansion in U.S. manufacturing operations announced by BSAM. The project represents an investment of more than 1.2 billion USD and is expected to create more than 900 U.S. jobs. (From a press release on September 22, 2011)

- Bridgestone Corp. announced that it will increase the production capacity of passenger car and light-duty truck tires in the U.S.  By the first quarter of 2013, from January through March, it will add a new building at the Aiken County Plant, South Carolina, to raise its daily output capacity from current 25,200 tires to 30,000 tires.  As demand for passenger car and light truck tires is steadily increasing over the last few years in North America and expected to continuously grow, the tire supplier has decided to expand the capacity.  Approx. USD 135 million will be invested.  Plans include construction of an approx. 8,1000 m2 building and employment of over 120 new workers.  Construction will begin by the end of this year. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on July 23, 2011)