Bridgestone to Build New Technical Center for Non-Tire Products

30 July 1998

Bridgestone to Build New Technical Center for Non-Tire Products; Move Signifies Stepped-Up Commitment to Diversified Operations

    NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(AutomotiveWire)--July 30, 1998--Bridgestone Corporation announced today that it will build a technical center for diversified products.
    The new center will be at the company's Yokohama Plant, which is Bridgestone's flagship factory for non-tire products. Construction work will begin this November, and the center will open in March 2000, Bridgestone's 70th anniversary. Investment in the center will total about Yen 3 billion (about US $23 million).
    Diversified products are a strategic emphasis for Bridgestone, which provide an important means of steadying earnings and maximizing long term growth potential. The new technical center will support diversification through advances in both product and production technologies.
    The center will stand eight stories tall atop a foundation equipped with Bridgestone's Multi-Rubber Bearings for protection from earthquakes. It will feature state-of-the-art telecommunications capabilities to promote close technical liaison with Bridgestone's 51 principal non-tire plants in 9 nations.
    Expanding capabilities in non-tire research and development (R&D) has become a pressing issue for Bridgestone as the company's portfolio of diversified technologies and products has grown. Historically, Bridgestone's non-tire business originated in automotive and non-automotive products made from rubber and urethane. The company has since developed non-tire business in a vast range of technology-intensive products, such as engineered plastics, precision rubber components, high-performance films, and earthquake-resistant supports for building foundations, while continuing to expand its business in traditional rubber and urethane products.
    Bridgestone's new technical center will increase efficiency in R&D by providing expanded and upgraded facilities for R&D activities and by bringing the activities together under a common roof. The company's R&D on diversified products presently takes place in several different parts of the administrative building and prototype shop at the Yokohama Plant.

Outline of the Technical Center

1.  Floor space            About 15,000 square meters
                           (about 160,000 square feet)
2.  Structure              8-stories; earthquake-resistant foundation
3.  Start of construction  November 1998
4.  Completion             March 2000
5.  Investment             About Yen 3 billion (about US $23 million)

Bridgestone Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, is a leader among the world's tire companies, producing a complete line of tires which account for 78 percent of its sales worldwide. It also manufactures a wide range of diversified products which include industrial rubber and chemical products, sporting goods and others. These products are sold in more than 150 nations and territories around the world.

Note: Dollar equivalents for investment amount were computed at a
rate of Yen 128 to $1.