Bridgestone to build plant
TOKYO-Bridgestone Corp. has selected Huizhou, China, as the site for its fourth tire plant in China, a $300 million radial truck and bus tire operation.
The facility, scheduled to go on stream by January 2007, will have a daily output of 5,000 tires at full capacity, which should be reached by the first half of 2009, Bridgestone said. Employment will be about 1,000 when it is fully operating.
The factory will be located on a 119-acre site and operate as Bridgestone (Huizhou) Tire Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary capitalized at $105 million. Huizhou is in Guangdong Province in southern China.
Bridgestone operates another truck and bus tire plant in Shenyang and builds passenger tires at facilities in Wuxi and Tianjin.
Titan profits a record
QUINCY, Ill.-Tire and wheel maker Titan International Inc. reported it achieved record first-quarter net income of $11.2 million.
The company had net sales of $136.1 million.