Bridgestone investing $99 million for 3rd plant in China

TOKYO (Feb. 28)—Bridgestone Corp. will invest $99 million over two years to build a radial passenger car and light truck tire plant in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China. The 8,000 unit-per-day facility is scheduled to be on stream in September 2004. The Wuxi unit, Bridgestone's third tire plant in China, will operate as Bridgestone (Wuxi) Tire Co. Ltd., a wholly owned Bridgestone subsidiary. The Tokyo group is a majority shareholder in its two production ventures in China—a passenger car tire plant in Tianjin and truck and bus tire unit in Shenyang. Newly formed Bridgestone (Wuxi) Tire is expected to employ 550, and will manufacture tires for the Chinese market and for export, according to a company statement. "Demand for radial tires for passenger cars is burgeoning in China as vehicle ownership surges," Bridgestone said. "The growth in Chinese demand is part of an ongoing expansion in the global market for radial passenger car tires."