Sales of Bandag retreaded tyres increased 9% in North America during 2022, with more than seven million units sold during the year. A US$60 million investment in capacities & debut of a new programme for small and mid-sized fleets should ensure continued growth in 2023.
Bridgestone Americas will invest an additional $190 million to renovate and expand its Costa Rican tyre manufacturing operations. The newly announced funds extend the existing plan to invest $60 million in Belén de Heredia by 2026. Bridgestone will increase its production capacity by 36 per cent, adding more than 160 new permanent jobs.
To meet demand driven by the rapid growth of its retread business, Bridgestone is investing US$60 million to expand its Bridgestone Bandag manufacturing plant in Abilene, USA. The project includes new mixing operations as well as an immediate shift to six and seven-day production schedules. The mixing facility will be operational by January 2025 and, together with the revised production cycle, will increase plant output by 16%.
With an additional US$42 million investment, Bridgestone Americas plans to commercialise its activities with guayule, a desert shrub that offers an alternative source of natural rubber. The aim is sustainable commercial production of guayule-derived natural rubber by the end of the decade.
Bridgestone Americas will spend US$550 million over the coming two years on the expansion and modernisation of its Warren County truck and bus radial tyre plant in the US state of Tennessee. The project will add 380 jobs to the Warren County workforce and expand the plant’s existing footprint by 850,000 square feet (around 79,000 square metres).
The Firestone Polymer Engineering Pilot Center (PEPC) in Akron, Ohio has become the first Bridgestone facility in North America to gain International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus recognition for sustainable raw material transparency and traceability. PEPC is part of the Bridgestone Americas Technology Center, which serves as a hub for Bridgestone’s entire innovation, research and product development within the Americas region.
Today is a big day for the Bridgestone team tasked with developing tyres containing natural rubber derived from the guayule desert shrub. An all-new Firestone race tyre with a sidewall made with this rubber makes its competition debut at this weekend’s IndyCar Series racing in Nashville, USA.
An opening ceremony took place yesterday for Bridgestone’s new racing tyre manufacturing facility in the USA. The inauguration of the Advanced Tire Production Center (ATPC) in Akron, Ohio provides Bridgestone Americas with the means of enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of its race tyre production. Housing a team of 60, the US$21 million plant will manufacture all Firestone Firehawk race tyres for the NTT IndyCar Series.
Following more than four years of joint research and development, Bridgestone Americas and Dow are presenting their recyclable, silicone-based tyre sealant technology this week. The partners are introducing the solution at the 2022 Silicone Expo in Detroit, USA.
Several tyre makers plan to offer tyres containing natural rubber from non-conventional sources. Bridgestone Americas has been working to commercialise guayule shrub rubber for a decade and recently announced the upcoming motorsport debut of a race tyre made with guayule rubber grown and extracted at its R&D facilities. It will introduce the new Firestone Firehawk at the Indy Pit Stop Challenge on 27 May ahead of the race tyre’s competitive premiere in August.
Bridgestone Americas has commenced an exclusive partnership with carbon capture and transformation (CCT) specialist LanzaTech NZ, Inc. to address end-of-life tyre waste. The two companies will co-develop the first dedicated end-of-life tyre recycling process leveraging LanzaTech’s proprietary CCT technology.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute has awarded Bridgestone Americas a research grant to advance its optimisation of guayule, a drought resistant, desert shrub that shows promise as a local source of natural rubber for tyre production. Bridgestone has spent more than a decade researching guayule rubber for use in tyres.
At a ceremony held in Phoenix, Arizona this month, General Motors (GM) honoured 134 suppliers based in 16 countries. The vehicle manufacturer’s 2021 Supplier of the Year awardees included five tyre makers – Bridgestone Corporation, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Hankook Tire & Technology, Maxxis Tires and Michelin North America.
Bridgestone Americas has made a minority investment in May Mobility, marking the company’s first investment in public-serving autonomous vehicles (AVs). The new partnership paves the way for the future integration of Bridgestone’s digital and predictive tyre-centric technologies into May Mobility autonomous vehicles. The partnership will also provide Bridgestone with insights into autonomous vehicle operations that improve its core tyre products and mobility solutions.
Following an investigation performed by Bridgestone Americas and third-party security advisors, Bridgestone Corporation understands that the “IT security incident” that Bridgestone Americas experienced on 27 February was the result of an “untargeted ransomware attack.”
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