Innovation nets top tire-maker award for Bridgestone

Hanover, Germany – Bridgestone has been voted “tire manufacturer of the year” at a 17 Feb awards event during the Tire Technology Expo (TTE) in Hanover.

The award recognised Bridgestone’s forward-looking approach to R&D, as evidenced by a $250-million investment in facilities in Tokyo to foster open innovation based on industry-government-academia partnerships.

The TTE 2016 judges also noted Bridgestone’s first construction of a passenger-car tire made with natural rubber obtained entirely from guayule; the updating and relocation of its Asia Pacific technical centre in Thailand; and the zero-waste-to-landfill status of a tire plant in the US.

Receiving the award, Eduardo Minardi, executive chairman and CEO of Bridgestone EMEA, emphasised the importance of teamwork and employee buy-in to Bridgestone’s innovation and sustainability strategies.

The company needs to “ensure all our people understand not only what they have to do but also why and how we need to do it.” the Bridgestone EMEA executive explained.

Bridgestone fosters high levels of communication, collaboration and openness across its 145,000-strong global workforce to align it more closely with the demands of society and the needs of the end users, added Minardi.

“We can help people to speak up, to be more creative and help our teams to work with each other,” he concluded. “This is what we are doing in Bridgestone globally and why we are having a stronger R&D and innovation activity.”