Bridgestone Announces Plans to Increase Aircraft Radial Tire Production Capacity at Kurume Plant
TOKYO (October 17, 2016) - Bridgestone Corporation today announced that it has decided to increase the capacity of its manufacturing plant at Kurume, Japan to produce more aircraft radial tires (APR) to respond to the strong medium-to-long-term global demand projected for these tires. This production capacity increase will entail a total investment of JPY2.1 billion and is slated for completion by the end of 2018.
The Bridgestone Group's aircraft tire operations represent a solutions business built for global scale. This business combines new tires, retread tires, and technical services to respond to the sophisticated needs of aircraft manufacturers and airlines worldwide. Currently, new APR are produced at the Kurume Plant and the Tokyo AP Plant. The company also manufactures retread aircraft tires and provides other services in regions around the world, including Japan, the United States, Belgium, and China. By increasing the production capacity of the Kurume Plant, Bridgestone aim's to enhance global supply systems and further boost competitiveness domestically and abroad.
At the same time, this capacity increase will contribute to enhance the Group's overall aircraft tire solutions operations and help Bridgestone better respond to the growing and ever more diverse needs of customers.