TOKYO--Bridgestone Corporation announced today that it will construct a plant to produce large and ultralarge radial tires for mining and construction vehicles in response to growing global demand for those tires. Plans are to build the new plant in the Hibikinada Industrial Area in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture. A request for building permits has already been made. Bridgestone intends to conclude an agreement in the first half of 2007 following a period of negotiation regarding project details with city officials and approval by the city council.

It will be the first time in more than 30 years that Bridgestone has built a new tire plant in Japan, the last being the Hofu Plant, which started operation in 1976. Bridgestone will also increase production capacity of steel cord for mining and construction vehicle tires at the Saga Plant in order to support this new plant. Approximately \32.0 billion has been earmarked for the both projects.
The main applications for the large and ultralarge tires will be mining and quarrying equipment used around the world. Demand for those tires has been expanding significantly worldwide in step with increasing global production of mineral resources. Bridgestone had earlier announced its intention to boost production at the Shimonoseki Plant by the start of 2008, which is currently the only Bridgestone Group plant producing ultralarge radial tires for mining and construction equipment. The decision to build the new production site was made based on projections of continued growth in demand.

The new plant will be located adjacent to the Shimonoseki Plant in Kitakyushu to facilitate the use of sophisticated technologies required in the development and production of the ultralarge radial tires. It will also ensure that Bridgestone's domestic resources, including technology and equipment, are used to optimal effect. Additionally, the plant will liaise closely with the hub of Bridgestone's R&D activities, the Technical Center situated in the Tokyo suburb of Kodaira, with the objective of swiftly creating a global supply system.

Construction will begin in the second half of 2007, with production expected to get underway in the second half of 2009. Production capacity is projected to reach around 30 tons of new rubber a day by the second half of 2010. Bridgestone will look into the possibility of further expanding capacity at the new plant as the need arises in light of future demand. Combined with the capacity increase at the Shimonoseki Plant, the aggregate production capacity of large and ultralarge tires for mining and construction equipment is projected to climb 40% relative to current levels by the second half of 2010 once the new plant goes online. Meanwhile, production capacity of steel cord at the Saga Plant is projected to increase 4% by the first half of 2011 due to efforts to boost production.

The ultimate management goal of Bridgestone is to establish the company as the undisputed no. 1 tire and rubber company "both in name and reality". Building the new plant is a key component in the strategy to realize this goal. In addition to supporting a growing market, the new plant will help strengthen Bridgestone's position as a market leader in this tire segment. The new plant will be the 52nd plant in Bridgestone Group's global production network for tires, which spans 23 nations. This includes four plants currently under construction in Mexico, China, Hungary and Poland.