Bridgestone Firestone Brazil Inaugurates Plant in Camaçari, Bahia, Brazil Investment of US $160 million planned for passenger car and light truck tires
Salvador, Brazil (Feb. 2, 2007) – Bridgestone Firestone do Brasil Indústria e Comércio Ltda. today inaugurates its second Brazilian facility, approximately two years after the announcement of plans to invest in the State of Bahia. Built to meet both national and export demand, the approximately 18-acre plant has been constructed in a more than 247-acre area in the Pole of Camaçari (Bahia State). As currently configured, the plant will generate 500 direct jobs and around 1,200 indirect jobs. The new plant’s focus is the production of tires for passenger cars and light trucks.
State-of-the-art technology
Over the last few weeks, the facility began phasing-in manufacturing operations. Production will be expanded gradually until it reaches a daily production of 8,000 tires for passenger vehicles and light trucks. This volume is expected to be reached in the second half of this year.
The Bahia plant utilizes new Bridgestone Corporation technology that replaces traditional linear production with a modular system consisting of a small and compact production line, several of which can be located within a facility, somewhat like small “plants” within a larger building. In its initial configuration, the plant will operate with a daily production capacity of 8,000 tires. According to Rioji Hirokawa, Bridgestone Firestone's Director responsible for the implementation of the Bahia project, the system allows for higher productivity, enhanced quality control for the entire process and expedited future expansions. “In addition to a higher quality industrial process, an expansion of or readjustment in a module will not affect the rest of the production,” remarked Hirokawa.
“Today, we are rewarded both as entrepreneurs and as Brazilians,” said Eugenio Deliberato, President of Bridgestone Firestone Brazil. “The governments of Bahia State and Camaçari City provided us with first-class professional support which allowed us to open this plant in record time, just a little more than two years following our Dec. 15, 2004 announcement where we were joined by former Gov. Paulo Souto. Furthermore, we are bringing to Brazil state-of-the-art tire manufacturing technology that will be implemented by capable Bahian manpower,” concluded Deliberato.
“The construction of this plant in Bahia is proof of Bridgestone Americas' commitment to Brazil,” said Mark A. Emkes, Chairman and CEO of Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc., parent company of Bridgestone Firestone Brazil. “Tires with a sophisticated design and innovative technology will be shipped from the Bahia plant to meet worldwide consumers’ needs as well as those of local consumers.”
By the end of 2007, Bridgestone Firestone Brazil will have concluded a seven-year plan of investments in Brazil totaling US $460 million, which includes building the new plant and modernizing production at its Santo André facility. “With this solid two-plant foundation, we are positioning ourselves in a more competitive way to meet the demand both of the Brazilian market and the Americas,” said Deliberato.
About Bridgestone Firestone Brazil:
With more than 80 years in business, Bridgestone Firestone do Brasil Indústrio e Comércio Ltda.(BFBR), a subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc. and part of that company’s Bridgestone Firestone Latin American Operations, is a major participant in the South American tire market. BFBR manufactures passenger, light truck, truck and bus radial tires and agricultural bias tires. Today, the Sao Paulo plant excels in aftermarket sales among cars, trucks, light trucks, buses and farm machinery manufacturers. Sao Pedro is also home to one of three Bridgestone Americas’ proving grounds, and the South American Technical Center is located in Brazil. In 2007 BFBR opened a new plant in Bahia that produces tires for passenger cars and light trucks.
About Bridgestone Firestone Latin America:
Bridgestone Americas maintains an established and strong presence in Latin America through the subsidiaries that make up the operating unit known as Bridgestone Firestone Latin American Operations (BFLA). BFLA, through eight manufacturing and sales subsidiaries, operates seven tire production plants—two in Mexico, two in Brazil, and one each in Argentina, Costa Rica and Venezuela—along with proving grounds in Acuña, Mexico, and Sao Pedro, Brazil. Today, BFLA has the largest number of points of sale of any tire manufacturer in the region with more than 4,600 locations.
About Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc.:
Nashville-based Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc. (BSAH) is the U.S. subsidiary of the Bridgestone Corporation, the world’s largest tire and rubber company. BSAH and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market a wide range of Bridgestone, Firestone, Dayton and associate brand tires to address the needs of a broad range of customers, including consumers, automotive and commercial vehicle original equipment manufacturers, and those in the agricultural, forestry and mining industries. The companies also produce air springs, roofing materials, synthetic rubber and industrial fibers and textiles and operate the world’s largest chain of automotive tire and service centers.
High resolution photos can be found on site www.bfbr.com.br