Bridgestone to expand North Carolina passenger car tyre plant
North
Carolina: Bridgestone Americas plans to invest around USD164 million at its Wilson
passenger tyre plant. The investment is done to expand plants capacity to
nearly 10% over the coming five years. Bridgestone confirmed that the
investment will help the organisation to meet the market demand, as well as to
invest in newer more efficient technology.
The plant has the capacity to produce 32,000
passenger tyres on daily basis. The expansion will boost the plant’s production
capacity by 3,000 tyres per day to reach 35,000 tyres per day by 2018.
During phases one and two of the project, the
investment of USD100 million will be infused in the plant. The plant will add
167,000 square feet of manufacturing space to accommodate new tyre-assembly
machines, materials-handling systems, curing presses and associated equipment.
The company also confirmed that the new equipment will also allow the plant to
respond to the increasing global demand for higher rim size tyres, as well as
improve quality and productivity while reducing cost simultaneously.
The Wilson tyre plant is one of the two
passenger car tyres plants that Bridgestone operates in the U.S. The expansion
of the plant will help Bridgestone to better penetrate the tyre market in the
country and increase its dealership network by strengthening its presence in
the market.
TechSci
Research believes that the decision taken by Bridgestone America will not only
solidify its presence in U.S.A but also provide immense opportunities for
further expansion as the Company is heavily fortified for 2016 and ahead.
The recent report published by TechSci Research, “USA Tyre Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2020” United States
is the world’s second largest automobile producer and consumer. In order to
address the growing demand in the domestic market, many domestic and foreign
tyre manufacturers have established their presence in the country, by either
setting up production facilities or strengthening their distribution networks.
Additionally, the increasing tyre production capacity of Bridgestone Americas
is going to give its peers a hard time in the market.