Bridgestone marks 50 years at Béthune plant

ERJ staff report (DS)

Béthune, France - Bridgestone celebrated 50 years of operations at the Béthune, France, tyre manufacturing plant on 11th June. More than 2300 visitors from the local community attended the open day to mark the event which included guided tours of the factory, an exhibition on the history of the plant and an official ceremony.

Initially the Béthune plant produced 4000 Firestone tyres a day and employed 640 people. Capacity expanded steadily and reached a daily output of 12,500 tyres by 1973. In 1991 the plant produced its first Bridgestone tyre, following Bridgestone's worldwide acquisition of Firestone. Production increased to 22,000 tyres a day.

Today 75 percent of production is oriented towards high-performance passenger-car tyres, including winter tyres. With a workforce of 1300, production capacity has reached 25,000 tyres a day.

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Press release from Bridgestone Europe