Bridgestone Officially Opens Chinese Plant

Bridgestone has officially opened its Chinese Jiangsu Province facility that produces rubber anti-vibration components for automobiles in China. The plant is in the city of Changzhou, about 160 kilometres west of Shanghai.

Present at the ceremony were representatives from the Chinese government and municipal officials, as well as from Bridgestone. Tatsuya Okajima, a Bridgestone board member responsible for original equipment, and Hiromichi Odagiri a vice president and senior officer who serves as chief representative of Bridgestone tyre operations in China attended the event.

“We are determined to contribute to the ongoing development of motor transport in China,” emphasised Mr Okajima in his remarks. “All of our employees here share a commitment to earning people’s trust and to building a company that they can be proud of.”

Bridgestone (Changzhou) Automotive Products’ plant will have a monthly production capacity of about 170,000 anti-vibration components by September 2006, says the company. Bridgestone has invested about $16 million in the plant, which is the group’s sixth plant for producing anti-vibration components.