Bridgestone officially opens steel cord plant in China

Shenyang, China -- Bridgestone Corp. has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary in China Bridgestone (Shenyang) Steel Cord Co., Ltd., held the official opening on Tue, 25, Oct for a plant producing steel cord in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. Bridgestone invested US$94.3 million in the construction of the plant, which began producing steel cord for truck and bus radial tyres in August this year. Production capacity is projected to reach 70 tons per day by the end of 2007.

It is very rare for an organisation to have three separate companies - Bridgestone (Shenyang) Steel Cord Co., Ltd., Shenyang Bridgestone Co., Ltd. and Bridgestone (Shenyang) Tire Co., Ltd. - in the same region,” explained Oku in his address at the opening ceremony. This demonstrates the close relationship and deep trust between Shenyang City and Bridgestone. Going forward, we will strengthen this bond and strive to further contribute to the development of Shenyang City and Liaoning Province.”

This is Bridgestone Group's sixth steel cord plant worldwide. It joins the Kuroiso and Saga Plants in Japan, the Clarksville Plant in the United States, the Cagliari Plant in Italy and the Rayong Plant in Thailand. A seventh plant in Huizhou, China is currently under construction.