Bridgestone to invest $250 million in expansions

TOKYO (Aug. 12)—Bridgestone Corp. will invest $250 million in the coming two years to expand its global tire production capacity and realign the geographical distribution network for its tire products. The moves reflect a shift in demand toward higher performance tires in industrialized regions, the company said. The investments include: $40 million in Japan to add 5,000 daily units of high-performance tire output at six plants; $80 million in Thailand to raise capacity 55.5 percent to 28,000 units at the Nong Khae plant; $8 million in Indonesia to increase capacity 20 percent to 18,000 tires a day; $8 million in China to boost output 27.2 percent at the Tianjin plant to 14,000 units a day; $60 million in Poland to raise capacity 50 percent to 15,000 units a day by year-end 2004; $8 million in Mexico to add 1,000 units a day at Cuernavaca; and $40 million in Costa Rica to raise output to 12,000 tires a day.