Bridgestone to build $139 million truck tire plant in Thailand

TOKYO (Nov. 26)—Bridgestone Corp. will build a radial truck and bus tire plant in Thailand—its third tire facility in that country—at a cost of $139 million. The factory, located about 60 miles south of Bangkok, Thailand, in Chonburi, will begin operation in the second half of 2004 with a daily production capacity of 2,500 tires. It will export tires to the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as to other Southeast Asian nations, Bridgestone said. The plant will operate as Bridgestone Tyre Manufacturing (Thailand) Co. Ltd. Bridgestone's other tire factories in Thailand, in Rangsit and Nong Khae districts, operate under another subsidiary, Thai Bridgestone Co. Ltd. The new facility will receive extensive technical support from those operations. The project is in addition to $250 million in expansions the company announced in August, including $80 million to increase capacity at the Nong Khae plant by 55.5 percent to 28,000 units per day by year-end 2004.