Bridgestone to upgrade Japanese OTR tire plant

Bridgestone Corp. plans to invest nearly $94 million over four years to make its Shimonoseki, Japan, off-the-road tire plant "greener" in terms of renewable energy use and cleaner handling of waste water.

The investment, which will start in 2022 and run through year-end 2025, reflects goals set forth in Bridgestone's longer-term strategic growth strategy, which are part of the firm's Mid-Term Business Plan.

New equipment earmarked for the plant will enhance the company's production system in terms of safety, disaster preparedness, eco-friendliness, quality and productivity, Bridgestone said, without quantifying the potential effects on the factory's production capacity. The 51-year-old, 2.8 million-sq.-ft. factory is rated at 250 metric tons of output a day.

A key component of the investment will be the installation of solar power-generation equipment, which will increase plant's use of electricity generated from renewable energy and reduce CO2 emissions and environmental impacts.In addition, a water purification system will be installed to convert industrial water used in tire production into drinkable water in order to reduce the impacts on the surrounding environment through efficient use of water resources. Th water purification and solar power systems will be designed to supply lifelines to the surrounding community in the event of a natural disaster as Bridgestone seeks to achieve harmony with the community.

The equipment will be installed together with new infrastructure that will further contribute to the implementation of the company's "Sustainability Business Framework" roadmap, which entails linking its initiatives for recycling resources and contributing to the realization of a carbon-neutral society.

The Shimonoseki factory is one of a dozen plants Bridgestone operates with OTR tire capacity globally. The others are in Hofu and Kitakyushu, Japan; Bekasi, Indonesia; Amata City and Ransit, Thailand; Bloomington, Ill.; Trenton, S.C.; Puente San Miguel, Spain; Buenos Aires and Santo Andre, Brazil; and Izmit, Turkey.