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Bridgestone Bounces Onto the Rubber Network

11 May 2000

RubberNetwork.com Announces Addition of Bridgestone as Seventh Member Company

    AKRON, Ohio - RubberNetwork.com announced today that Japan's Bridgestone 
Corp. has become its seventh member company.

    Bridgestone joins Continental AG, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, The
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Groupe Michelin, Pirelli SpA and Sumitomo
Rubber Industries.

    It is also announced that McKinsey and Company, an international
management consultancy, has been retained as overall e-commerce advisor for
the initiative, with an announcement on the technology provider to be made in
the near future.

    RubberNetwork.com -- which will be an independent company -- was announced
April 17, as a global electronic purchasing and procurement exchange for the
tire and rubber industry.  Total industry purchases represent more than
$50 billion a year spent on raw materials, equipment, machinery, goods and
services.  The seven member companies represent approximately 75 percent of
global tire industry manufacturing capacity.

    The exchange will enable member companies to increase the efficiency of
their operations and to achieve substantial savings in the cost of doing
business.

    RubberNetwork.com welcomes the opportunity to work closely with other
exchanges, especially those associated with the auto industry.

    Additional manufacturers and suppliers are expected to join the exchange,
which intends to be operating before the end of the year.