BIZMIT, Turkey—Brisa Bridgestone Sabanci Lastik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., the Bridgestone Corp.-Sabanci Holdings joint venture, is evaluating opportunities in Turkey for a passenger tire plant to supplement the firm's existing manufacturing assets in Izmit.
Bridgestone and Sabanci, one of Turkey's largest industrial congolomerates, each own 43.6 percent of Brisa Bridgestone, which operates a radial car, truck and bus tire plant in Izmit, according to Bridgestone.
Brisa will begin evaluating potential sites for the plant as part of the evaluation process, Bridgestone said, without disclosing specifics about size and/or investment.
In disclosing plans for Brisa, Bridgestone noted tire demand in Turkey is expected to grow along with the nation's economic growth and a "sound" demographic composition.
Bridgestone and Sabanci established Brisa in 1988, using Sabanci's existing Lassa tire assets as a base. The plant in Izmit is rated at nearly 29,000 units a day with 1,745 employees.
With sales in 2012 of $792 million, Brisa was ranked 37th globally, according to Rubber & Plastics News' 2013 Global Tire Company Rankings.
Goodyear and Pirelli Tyre S.p.A. also have tire plants in Turkey along with Turkish manufacturers Anlas Anadolu Lastik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. and Petlas Tyre Industry & Trade Co.
Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. will join those ranks in the coming years with a $500 million plant in Çankiri in a joint venture with Abdulkadir Özcan Otomotiv Lastik, the parent of Turkish tire maker Petlas Tyre and the Turkish importer/distributor of Toyo-, Hankook- and Maxxis-brand tires.