Bridgestone To Set Up First Russia Tire Plant

Bridgestone Corp. has said it plans to establish a car tire plant in Ulyanovsk in western Russia -- its first tire production base in the country -- by the end of June, aiming to build production capacity for around 12,000 tires per day in 2018.

VLADIVOSTOK, April 16 (Kyodo) — Bridgestone Corp. has said it plans to establish a car tire plant in Ulyanovsk in western Russia -- its first tire production base in the country -- by the end of June, aiming to build production capacity for around 12,000 tires per day in 2018.

Production at Bridgestone Tire Manufacturing C.I.S. LLC is scheduled to start in the first half of 2016, Bridgestone said in a statement released Friday. The company is planning to expand sales of winter tires in the country.

Bridgestone is the second Japanese tire maker building a plant in Russia, following Yokohama Rubber Co., which started production in the Lipetsk region in May.

Bridgestone Tire Manufacturing C.I.S. will be set up with an investment of around 37.5 billion yen (about $383.7 million) put up 90 percent by Bridgestone and the remainder by trading house Mitsubishi Corp.

More