Bridgestone group company Bandag Europe announced at a special meeting of its employees its intention to close its retreading materials (pre-cured tread and cushion rubber) production plant in Lanklaar, Belgium, by the first half of 2025. The truck and bus business in Europe, including retread tires, has been facing many profitability issues, and the company has been restructuring its business...
Tires
Sumitomo Rubber Deploys Tire Pressure Monitoring System
Sumitomo Rubber began selling its Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) in July. The company has been offering a tire pressure and temperature management service for trucks using this system at Dunlop’s truck tire dealers since the same month, and is now focusing on developing its tire solution business, which is a key business for the company. At the DTS (Dunlop...
Bridgestone Holds 14th National Skills Grand Prix and 2nd Solution Engineer Contest
Bridgestone Tire Solutions Japan held the 14th National Skills Grand Prix and the 2nd National Solution Engineer Contest at Yume Messe Miyagi in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture on September 4. The purpose of the Skills Grand Prix is to improve the quality of truck and bus (TB) tire maintenance services and to produce key leaders such as skills meisters and...
Yokohama Rubber Ups Expectations for Medium Term Plan
Yokohama Rubber has revised upward its financial targets for its new medium-term management plan Yokohama Transformation 2026 (YX2026) announced on February 16. The company took into account the current strong performance, the realization of technology and production reforms that it will pursue, and the performance of the OTR (off-the-road tire) business to be acquired from Goodyear. It upwardly revised its...
Bridgestone Promotes Global Cost Reductions Throughout Value Chain
Bridgestone is promoting cost reductions throughout the entire value chain by optimizing the balance between sales, production and inventory. The company is reducing fixed costs in line with sales volume, optimizing the production system, and thoroughly reducing inventory based on volume and value. In production, Bridgestone is shortening operating days and suspending operations of some processes to improve profitability of...
Four Japanese Tire Makers Post Record Sales and Profit in First Half
The four Japanese tire makers have released their first half (January-June) results for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024. Bridgestone, Sumitomo Rubber, Yokohama Rubber and Toyo Tires all posted record-high sales and profits for the period. Although tire sales volume was slightly struggling, the external environment, including raw material prices, yen depreciation, and lower ocean freight rates, in addition...