As part of an ongoing development program, Bridgestone has invested US$30.5m to develop its tire factory in Tatabánya, Hungary, supported by the Hungarian government with US$2.7m. Enhancements to the company’s artificial intelligence-based digital tire production technology will enable an increase in current annual output by 15% to 7.2 million tires in the coming years.
Alongside the factory upgrades, the firm has inaugurated an extended 10,000m2 (32,808ft2) warehouse at the Tatabánya facility, where it can store an additional 180,000 tires. This increases the warehouse’s total capacity to 600,000 tires. With the extra stock on-site, Bridgestone will be able to supply Hungarian and international vehicle manufacturers more efficiently.
“The company has invested close to US$430.2m over the past 12 years in the construction and development of the Tatabánya plant, making it one of the most modern Bridgestone plants in Europe,” comments Melinda Topolcsik, managing director of Bridgestone Tatabánya Manufacturing.
“As a result of these recent developments, we have tripled our original manufacturing capacity and we are on our way to producing 7.2 million high-quality tires annually in the Tatabánya plant, with a direct supply to car makers in Hungary.”
