TOKYO (March 30, 2010)—Bridgestone Corp. said its subsidiary in India, Bridgestone India Private Ltd., will set up a plant near Pune, India, to produce radial passenger, truck and bus tires.
The facility in Maharashtra State will cost about $540 million, and is in response to increasing demand for such tires in India. Passenger tire production at the site is expected to begin in January 2013, and truck and bus tire output in August, Bridgestone said. By 2020, the plant will have the capacity to make 10,000 auto tires and 3,000 truck and bus radials a day.
India's economic growth is expected to fuel expansion of road infrastructure, and as auto production increases, so will demand for tires, Bridgestone said. The company began making passenger radials at its plant in Indore in 1998 and plans to begin truck tire production there in 2010, but the firm decided it needed a new factory to further strengthen supply in India.
The new facility will be build at the Chankan Industrial Area near Pune, and encompass about 77,000 square meters. The location is accessible to major cities, and deliveries to Bridgestone customers will be enhanced and made easier, the company said.