Bridgestone Plans Expansion of Canadian Tire Plant
Canada: Bridgestone has announced expansion
of production capacity of its car and light truck tire plant based in Joliette
in Canada. Moreover, with this expansion plan, the company is expected to
increase the size of the existing plant to 1.13 million square feet. The entire
plan is scheduled to stretch over a period of five years with the aim of
producing 20,000 tires per day by 2023. In addition to this, the new equipment
installed within the plant would help the company to widen its product mix by
addition of 18 - 22 inch SKUs.
“Our investment in updated equipment and
improved manufacturing processes reflects our ongoing commitment to identifying
new, cost-effective and innovative ways to serve consumers, dealers and
original equipment manufacturers. Canada continues to represent an important
market for our company, and this investment represents a tremendous opportunity
for Bridgestone, Joliette, the Lanaudiere region and the North American markets
by enhancing the long-term viability of this facility,” said Robert Verreault,
Manager for Joliette plant.
According to a recent report published by TechSci Research,” Canada Tyre Market Forecast &
Opportunities, 2020” Canada tire market is forecast to increase at a CAGR of around 6% until
2020. Large vehicle fleet and growing hybrid vehicle sales would be the major
factors driving Canada tire market over the forecast period. Passenger car tire
market is the dominant segment followed by commercial vehicle tire segment and
two-wheelers tire segment. Further, the replacement tire segment leads OEM tire
segment by huge margins and it is anticipated that this trend will continue
through the forecast period. Michelin, Goodyear and Bridgestone have domestic
production facilities in the country, while all other players cater to the
growing demand for tires through their sales and marketing offices in Canada.
Michelin, Hankook, Goodyear and Bridgestone are leading players in Canada tire
market.
TechSci Research believes that, by expansion
of their production capacity in Canada, the company will successfully cater to
the rising demand for tires in the country. Moreover, supported by this move,
the company is anticipated to widen their consumer base across both OEM and
replacement segments, which in turn, is expected to support the market share of
the company in Canada Tire Market.