Bridgestone bolstering sustainability with key technologies

TOKYO—Bridgestone is planning to expand its innovative tire technologies, reduce production footprint and further investigate the potential of the guayule shrub as a source of natural rubber as part of its ongoing restructuring.

In the latest update on its mid-term business plan (2021-2023), published Nov. 11, the Japanese group said it will continue to focus on "sustainability and the evolution of mobility."

As part of that, Bridgestone aims to expand its Enliten tire technology, which reduces the weight of tires by 20 percent, raw materials consumption by 2kg and rolling resistance by 30 percent compared to other products in the market.

The Japanese group said it is currently working on original equipment fitment of Enliten tires in Europe and expects to achieve "full-scale expansion" in both OE and replacement segments by 2023-24.

By 2024, the tire maker expects to equip 70 percent of replacement passenger car tires in Europe and North America and 10 percent of replacement passenger car tires in China and Japan with the technology.

The group has also set itself the target of equipping 90 percent of replacement passenger car tires globally with Enliten by 2030.

Reporting progress on other aspects of the business plan, Bridgestone said that it identified guayule shrub as a new investment opportunity, which will be studied under its designated "exploratory business" category.

Guayule is in addition to two previously announced businesses of recycled materials and soft robotics.

"Bridgestone aims to utilize guayule practically as tire materials before 2026," the group told European Rubber Journal in a Nov. 11 statement.

"Bridgestone owns a guayule research farm and R&D facility in Arizona, U.S., and will accelerate its research for practical use as tire materials," the group said.

To achieve this, it said it would accelerate open innovation and co-creation in biotechnology.

Bridgestone Americas Inc. will take the initiative to build an ecosystem with partners and inject resources globally to drive the business.

Elsewhere, Bridgestone said it is currently restructuring 23 locations, as part of a move to reduce global manufacturing footprint of 160 locations by 40 percent.

So far, two tire production sites in France and South Africa, as well as number of rubber goods manufacturing locations, have been restructured under the plan, Bridgestone said.

Some of the locations include Bridgestone's Everlight polyurethane foam products plant in Shanghai; Bridgestone Automotive Products de Mexico, which manufactures polyurethane for automotive applications; and PT Bridgestone Astra Indonesia, which produces automotive anti-vibration rubber.