Bridgestone Moves Synthetic Rubber Production to China

Bridgestone recently announced the opening of a new production facility in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China that will be exclusively addressed to styrene-butadiene rubber, often referred to as SBR. According to Gasgoo, the company estimates a production capacity of 50,000 tons annually. The styrene-butadiene rubber plays a very important role in the tire construction, with a 20 percent of all materials used in a tire. Basically, it represents that special part of the tire that touches the ground and ensures stability, handling and performance.

Production of high-quality styrene-butadiene rubber is extremely important especially for high-performance cars as it's especially supposed to protect the tire and maintain its strength.

The Asian automotive market expressed an increasing demand for high-performance tires in the last few months, the aforementioned source added, despite the fact that the financial recession made its presence felt in this side of the industry too. However, Bridgestone's new production plant is aimed at reducing costs and producing the whole tire internally, without the need for suppliers or partners.

However, Bridgestone will still work with suppliers for a while. “Bridgestone Group will continue aiming for optimum raw material procurement by combining internal manufacture with procurement from external suppliers,” Gasgoo wrote.

This isn't the first investment made by Bridgestone in China, with the tire manufacturer announcing back in 2003 a $99 million investment for a radial passenger tire plant. The facility was built in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province and represents the third factory owned by Bridgestone in China. The plant started production in September 2004 and had a daily output of 8,000 units.