Bridgestone to close China truck & bus tire plant

Tokyo – Bridgestone Corp. is closing one of its two truck and bus radial (TBR) tire production plants in China by the end of the year as part of an ongoing restructuring programme.

The Japanese group is planning to end the operations of at its production facility in Huizhou by the end of December in a bid to consolidate and optimise manufacturing footprint, said a 7 Dec statement.

The plant has a nameplate capacity to produce 4,400 units of tire per day and employs 800 people.

Following the closure, Bridgestone will operate one TBR production facility in Shenyang, in northeastern China, with the capacity to produce 2,800 tires per day. The facility employs 518 people.

In a statement provided to ERJ, Bridgestone said the capacity of the Huizhou plant would not be transferred to Shenyang following the closure.

“Production at Shenyang is not full now, so what Huizhou produces can be covered with Shenyang’s remaining capacity,” said a company spokesman without giving further details about utilisation rates.

Bridgestone said the move is part of the mid-term business plan (2021-2023) which aims to rebuild earning power of the group.

The closure follows the group's recent divestment of synthetic rubber production facility in Huizhou.

“Bridgestone has been considering manufacturing footprint restructuring globally, including tire, diversified product and material manufacturing sites,” said the announcement.

The closure, it added, came after ‘thorough and comprehensive’ study of options. 

Bridgestone said it was taking “appropriate actions” to minimise the impact of the closure for employees and local communities who will be affected by the move. 

The group said it expected the impact on its consolidated financial results for 2021 to be minor.