Bridgestone Europe has denied rumors that it has delayed its previously announced capacity expansion in Tatabanya, Hungary. The project, announced in October 2012, will add capacity to about 6.5 million tires per year (18,000 tires/day) by the first half of 2017. According to Bridgestone Europe, there has been no reassessment of the project, which is on schedule. The plant’s capacity is focused on premium radial passenger car tires, including run-flat tires and UHP tires.
In separate news, Russia’s Tass News Agency is reporting that Bridgestone will open its new tire plant in Russia later in 2016. According to Tass, Bridgestone will invest 12.5 billion rubles (US$147.7 million) in the new factory. Equipment assembly and pre-commissioning is currently underway at the plant and should be complete in the second half of the year. The project broke ground in April 2014. Capacity at the plant in Ulyanovsk Oblast will be 2 million units/year by 2019, though that could be doubled to 4 million tires/year if there is adequate demand. Employment will total about 800 workers in the first phase. This project is a joint venture between Bridgestone (90%) and Mitsubishi Corporation (10%).
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