The summer holidays are just around the corner. Millions of Europeans will soon be heading for the sun by road, many with caravans. Here is some good advice from Bridgestone to help those travelling on rubber have a safe journey.

Under inflated tyres put safety at risk

We’ve heard it before, but few of us do it correctly: “Check your tyre pressure regularly, and especially before long journeys.” It is a fact that driving on incorrect pressure can be both dangerous and costly. The most common fault is under inflation because tyres lose air pressure naturally over time, like a balloon. If your tyre pressure is too low, you lose handling control and your tyres become less durable due to stress and heat build up.

Low tyre pressure also costs you money: the wear life of a tyre is halved if pressure falls from 2.2 bars to 1.0 bar. Worse still, it adds an extra load on the environment. Low pressure increases your tyre’s rolling resistance on the road, leading to increased fuel consumption and higher emissions. It really does make sense to check your tyre pressure regularly.

Don’t forget your caravan tyres

If you’re towing a caravan this summer, pay special attention to the tyres. Caravan tyres are similar to car tyres, but are designed with higher load capacity and greater resistance to lateral forces to improve stability in the wind. These differences are key – don’t ever be tempted to fit car tyres on a caravan!

Another difference with caravan tyres is that they are used less often; maybe only once a year. Tyre condition should therefore be checked very carefully before the vacation. Firstly, check that there is nothing that could cause vibration, such as stones lodged in the tread. Then check the pressure while the tyres are cool. And check for tread wear. Most owners don’t go to their dealer for a new set until the tread surface has dry cracks. This is already much too late. Even without any visible signs of wear, caravan tyres should be changed after 10 years on average. See your tyre dealer for more information.

Load it carefully

It’s fun loading a caravan for vacation – but don’t get carried away! Try not to take more baggage than you need, don’t overload the rear, and spread the load evenly across the caravan to reduce the risk of zig-zag and instability. Remember: driving an overloaded caravan is not only an offence, it can be very dangerous too. And always carry a spare; you never know when you might need it.

Bridgestone studies show much work to be done

Unfortunately, too many drivers still fail to check their tyres regularly. In conjunction with the FIA Foundation, Bridgestone has conducted more than 67,000 tyre inspections across Europe since 2005 as part of the global “Think Before You Drive” road safety campaign. The findings are alarming: more than 90% of motorists drive on under-inflated tyres and 40% have at least one tyre significantly below the recommended pressure.

If you are driving your family on vacation this year, please make sure you check your tyre condition and pressure before leaving. For your safety, your wallet, and the environment.

Media information: G.Meylemans/D. Collins: +32 2 714 68 40

Bridgestone Europe NV/SA - with European headquarters in Brussels, Belgium - is a key division of the Bridgestone Corporation. It develops and manufactures top-quality tyres in Europe which, through its 17 subsidiary sales companies and other channels, are distributed all over Europe including the Eastern European markets. Products are also exported outside Europe, including to Japan.

Media information: G.Meylemans: +32 2 714 68 40/D. Collins: +32 2 714 67 71

“For broadcast-standard video and pictures supporting this press release, please visit www.thenewsmarket.com/bridgestone. If you are a first-time user, please take a moment to register. In case you have any questions, please email journalisthelp@thenewsmarket.com.”

Bridgestone Europe NV/SA - with European headquarters in Brussels, Belgium - is a key division of the Bridgestone Corporation. It develops and manufactures top-quality tyres in Europe which, through its 17 subsidiary sales companies and other channels, are distributed all over Europe including the Eastern European markets. Products are also exported outside Europe, including to Japan.

“Our sales in Romania, Slovakia and Baltic countries show a significant growth in recent years,” said Gerry Duffy, Vice President Sales & Marketing Bridgestone Europe. “It’s time to get closer to the market, to strengthen our presence, and to better serve our customers and end users. I am convinced that the new sales companies and their teams will provide high quality services and solutions to our business partners.”

The new sales companies are expected to start their operations from the 1st of July, 2008.

<New Sales Company>

Bridgestone Romania S.R.L.
Blvd.Mircea Voda nr.24, Et.2
Sector 3,
Bucharest, Romania

Bridgestone Slovakia S.R.O.
Laurinská 3,  811-01
Bratislava, Slovakia

 Bridgestone Baltics SIA
Jūrkalnes iela 15/25, LV-1046,
Riga, Latvia

Media Information : Gert Meylemans/Des Collins : +32 2 7146840

Bridgestone Europe NV/SA - with European headquarters in Brussels, Belgium - is a key division of the Bridgestone Corporation. It develops and manufactures top-quality tyres in Europe which, through its 17 subsidiary sales companies and other channels, are distributed all over Europe including the Eastern European markets. Products are also exported outside Europe, including to Japan.

Adding the issue of ecology to road safety, this year’s theme was “Safe Travel on Planet Ecopia”. Primary school children throughout Europe were invited to draw, colour or paint their dreams of how this planet might look. The judges made their selection based on the originality, creativity and impact of the work.

Prizes for children and schools

As in previous years, winners are selected in each of three age categories: up to 7 years, 8 to 9, and 10 to 11. The top 3 winners in each category receive a Bridgestone bicycle and safety helmet; the 4th to 10th placed receive a Bridgestone tennis set of racket and balls; and the 11th to 30th placed in each category win a safety bag.

The top 9 winners have a special honour – their work is painted onto a Bridgestone GP2 Series racing car. They also win a digital camera for their school.

Most importantly, every child who enters the competition receives his or her drawing printed on a T-shirt. Bridgestone may also award other prizes and organise ceremonies in local markets, in recognition of schools’ support and the individual efforts of children who participated.

School visits to educate on ecology and road safety

“We are very impressed by how these children express their views on road safety and ecology” said Gerry Duffy, Vice President Sales&Marketing, Bridgestone Europe. “Bridgestone wants to build on this enthusiasm and has decided to send its own staff into schools to further educate children about some of the safety and ecological issues we face.”

As part of Bridgestone’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme, the “dreams at heArt” children’s drawing contest aims to encourage citizens of the future to think about road safety and express their creativity. It is open to all children in Europe up to the age of 11 years and features a different theme for each edition.

Judges for the competition are Mr Lowie Vermeersch, chief designer of Pininfarina S.p.A., Mr David Ward, Director General of the FIA Foundation, and Dr Anne Adriaens-Pannier of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium.

More information at www.dreamsatheart.eu 

Media information: G.Meylemans/D. Collins: +32 2 714 68 40

Bridgestone Europe NV/SA - with European headquarters in Brussels, Belgium - is a key division of the Bridgestone Corporation. It develops and manufactures top-quality tyres in Europe which, through its 17 subsidiary sales companies and other channels, are distributed all over Europe including the Eastern European markets. Products are also exported outside Europe, including to Japan.

Around 100 guests attended the opening ceremony including representatives from 15 local, regional and national media, neighbouring companies, several customers and suppliers, and various members of Bridgestone Europe and Fiege Group companies.

Both VIP speakers, Mr Jens Fiege – CEO Fiege – and Yves Kerstens – VP Supply Chain, Bridgestone Europe, expressed their satisfaction with the relationship between the two long-term partners and the results achieved, specifically in the case of the Bor tyre warehouse.

Mr Kerstens stated in his speech: “Personally I am very pleased to see the results that have been achieved in this context with the Fiege Group. In 1978 Bridgestone was Fiege’s first “contract logistics” customer in Germany and today Fiege is our main service provider in Central and East Europe, operating warehouses in Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic and also the first partner to perform cross border deliveries”.

These 3 ELC’s store the full Bridgestone product line-up and have 4 main logistics functions :

• Import centre for tyres coming from overseas.
• Weekly Replenishment of the distribution centres in the region.
• Deliveries to end customers across country borders
• Finally, to act as storage buffers between market demand and production supply

Phase 1 of the ELC-East in Bor – some 20 km from the German-Czech Republic border - started operating in September 2006, after the rapid construction of 54.000 m2 over a period of 7 months. The location Bor was selected for its strategic location to serve existing West European markets as well as fast growing markets in East & Central Europe.

In May 2007 the company decided to extend the operation by another 16.000 m2 to cope with growing winter tyre market demand.

The capacity of the warehouse totals up to 1.100.000 tyres and around 100 employees are responsible for handling over 2000 different articles, comprising tyres for passenger cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, tractors and other agricultural machinery.    
 

Media information:  G.Meylemans/D. Collins: +32 2 714 68 40
 

Bridgestone Europe NV/SA - with European headquarters in Brussels, Belgium - is a key division of the Bridgestone Corporation. Through its subsidiary manufacturing companies it develops and produces top-quality tyres in Europe.  Its 17 subsidiary sales companies and other channels distribute the tyres all over Europe including the Eastern European markets. Products are also exported outside Europe, including to Japan.

The Fiege Group, founded in 1873 and headquartered in Greven/Germany, is among Europe 's leading logistics providers. Its competence lies in particular in the development and realisation of integrated, holistic supply chain systems. The Group has a workforce of around 21,000 world-wide.230 branches and co-operations based in 18 countries form a dense supply-chain network. The Group generated sales of Euro 1.8 billion in 2007. www.fiege.com

Bridgestone Europe NV/SA - with European headquarters in Brussels, Belgium - is a key division of the Bridgestone Corporation. Through its subsidiary manufacturing companies, it develops and produces top-quality tyres in Europe.  Its 17 subsidiary sales companies and other channels distribute the tyres all over Europe including the Eastern European markets. Products are also exported outside Europe, including to Japan.

Bridgestone Europe has received a prestigious Porsche Supplier Award 2008, recognising the company as one of the 10 best performing suppliers during the latest Porsche business year.

The award was presented to Stephan Rambow, Key Account Manager, Bridgestone Europe Original Equipment, at a ceremony with around 300 guests during the Porsche Suppliers Day at theDevelopment Center in Weissach, Germany on 3^rd April.

Porsche Supplier Awards are attributed to three categories of business partners – production material, non-production material and logistics – in recognition for achievements in sales, engineering and quality. Bridgestone was the only tyre manufacturer in the eight production material suppliers nominated for an award from the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer.

“The Porsche success story could not be imagined without efficient and reliable suppliers “said Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking, Chairman of the Porsche AG Executive Board at the ceremony: “the best of them are the yardstick for all the others.”

“This is a great achievement for Bridgestone “said Stephan Rambow “and it is due to the efforts of our whole cross-functional team. The key drivers for this award were superior quality product supply with zero defects, our flexible sales approach and a stable logistical supply service.”

Bridgestone has been supplying tyres to Porsche since 1983 and equipped the limited edition Porsche 959 with run flat tyres back in 1986. Current approved fitments cover all Porsche car lines and include Bridgestone Potenza RE050A ultra high-performance tyres for Porsche 911 and Boxster models, as well as HP Dueler for the Cayenne Facelift.

“For broadcast-standard video and pictures supporting this press release, please visit www.thenewsmarket.com/bridgestone. If you are a first-time user, please take a moment to register. In case you have any questions, please email journalisthelp@thenewsmarket.com.”

Bridgestone Europe NV/SA - with European headquarters in Brussels, Belgium - is a key division of the Bridgestone Corporation. It develops and manufactures top-quality tyres in Europe which, through its 17 subsidiary sales companies and other channels, are distributed all over Europe including the Eastern European markets. Products are also exported outside Europe, including to Japan.

This mark expresses the environmental management activities promoted by Bridgestone. The “e” represents the first letter of the word “Ecology”, the cornerstone of these activities. The mark also symbolizes the seeds borne from our eco foundations in the form of a clear sky and growing trees.

Bridgestone Europe NV/SA - with European headquarters in Brussels, Belgium - is a key division of the Bridgestone Corporation. It develops and manufactures top-quality tyres in Europe which, through its 17 subsidiary sales companies and other channels, are distributed all over Europe including the Eastern European markets. Products are also exported outside Europe, including to Japan.

Europe’s biggest motoring magazine, ADAC Motorwelt rates the Bridgestone Turanza ER300 in the top group of “highly recommendable” tyres in its 2008 summer tyre tests. Singling it out from 18 big-name competitors, the magazine describes Turanza ER300 as a “very well balanced summer tyre with best grade on dry and also good on wet”.

The VW Golf 2.0 FSI test vehicle fitted with 195/65 R15 tyres completed the full range of performance tests with weightings of 20% for dry, 40% for wet, 10% for noise, 10% for rolling resistance and 20% for wear rate. ADAC awards its final rating based on the overall weighted score, after downgrading for any individual result judged to be unacceptably weak. ADAC also rated the ER300 “highly recommendable” in 2007.

Test winner in Stiftung Warentest

Stiftung Warentest, the leading German consumer test magazine which shares content with several other European consumer publications, also evaluated the 2008 ADAC criteria and results. Their verdict: for its balanced all-round performance, the Turanza ER300 is test winner! “For compacts and mid-sized cars, the Bridgestone Turanza ER300 is the winner and the only tyre that reached a ‘very good’ rating on dry.”
 
“Very good handling performance on wet and dry” (Auto, Motor & Sport)

For AMS magazine, the Turanza ER300 was the only tyre out of 8 brands tested to score maximum points for high-speed dry lane changing (124 kph). Testing with a Mercedes-Benz S 350 on 235/55 R17 Y/W tyres, the ER300 also scored a maximum 20/20 for dry handling and 10/10 with the best data of all competitors for rolling resistance. AMS magazine picks out the strengths of the ER300: “very good handling performance on wet and dry, and good in hydroplaning” and stamps the tyre “recommendable”.

Potenza RE050A: “highly recommendable” (Auto Bild and AutoZeitung)

Bridgestone’s ultra high-performance sports tyre, the Potenza RE050A was also evaluated by the German motoring press. After testing 17 different tyre brands (225/45 R17 with Y/W speed rating) on a Mercedes C-Class 320, Germany’s biggest weekly car magazine, Auto Bild puts the RE050A on the podium with a “highly recommendable” rating.

AutoZeitung magazine, with a readership of more than 200,000 in Germany, was another to test the Potenza RE050A (225/45R 17Y tyres on a VW Golf V FSI 170 hp testing 16 top-name tyres). “Very recommendable” is the verdict and “good on dry”.

Turanza ER300 is ranked N° 1 out of 12 brands tested by Auto, Motor & Sport, Sweden
and Tekniikan Maailma, Finland.

Turanza ER300: “No weak points, no compromises”
(Auto, Motor & Sport, Sweden)

Testing 205/55 R16 tyres on an Audi A3 125 hp, Swedish motor magazine Auto, Motor & Sport ranks the Turanza ER300 1st out of 12 brands tested and gives it a full 5-star rating.

“Turanza is very easy to drive with a fast response and excellent capabilities on all surfaces. Bridgestone has managed to balance the properties of the tyre without having to make compromises” comments the Swedish publication.

“Bridgestone’s well balanced performance was admirable” (Tekniikan Maailma, Finland).

Sharing the same data as Sweden’s AMS publication, Finland’s top motor magazine with more than 650,000 readers praises the Turanza for its all-round performance and ranks it top of the class:

“Bridgestone’s well balanced performance was admirable. It reached the best points in only a few test items, but was almost always close to the top. Best side of Bridgestone is its easy driving behaviour. Bridgestone also behaves nicely on the limit. It reacts quickly to the steering, without behaving too sharply. With a unanimous decision by all test drivers, Bridgestone’s driveability on dry asphalt was the best in this group.” 

“For broadcast-standard video and pictures supporting this press release, please visit www.thenewsmarket.com/bridgestone. If you are a first-time user, please take a moment to register. In case you have any questions, please email journalisthelp@thenewsmarket.com.”

Bridgestone Europe NV/SA - with European headquarters in Brussels, Belgium - is a key division of the Bridgestone Corporation. It develops and manufactures top-quality tyres in Europe which, through its 17 subsidiary sales companies and other channels, are distributed all over Europe including the Eastern European markets. Products are also exported outside Europe, including to Japan.

On April 3^rd 2008 Bridgestone officially opened its new fully-automated production facility atTatabánya, Hungary. The € 190 million complex is the first in Europe to feature Bridgestone’s fully-automated tyre manufacturing process. Production of high-performance and large-rim sized radial tyres for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles is scheduled to reach 8,000 units a day in 2009.

More than 150 guests attended the opening ceremony including senior Hungarian figures from local, regional and national authorities, amongst them Mr Ábel Garamhegyi, State Secretary, Ministry of Economy and Transport, Mr János Bencsik, Mayor of Tatabánya and Mr László Beke, Mayor of Környe.

Representatives of Hungary’s national and local media, officials from local organisations in Tatabánya and Környe, and managing directors of neighbouring companies also attended.

This important event in the history of Bridgestone’s development in Europe was led by the company’s top management: Mr Shoshi Arakawa, CEO Bridgestone Corporation, Mr Takashi Urano, CEO Bridgestone Europe, and senior representatives of Bridgestone’s 6 other plants and 5 major sales companies in Europe.

After a welcome to the midday ceremony, the audience heard Mr Shoshi Arakawa, CEO Bridgestone Corporation, express Bridgestone’s pride in opening this revolutionary fully-automated plant which illustrates again the company’s long-term commitment to Europe.

Following a short address from Mr Garamhegyi, Hungarian State Secretary, who expressed his satisfaction that Bridgestone had brought world-leading technology to the country, Mr. Bencsik and Mr Beke, Mayors of Tatabánya and Környe respectively, thanked Bridgestone for its support in the community and the prospect of a long and successful local partnership.

The audience received an overview of the state-of-the-art complex and had watched the  fully-automated tyre production in progress before breaking for a buffet lunch.

The new Tatabánya plant operates with Bridgestone’s revolutionary BIRD (Bridgestone Innovative and Rational Development) technology, the second time only (the first non-Japanese BIRD plant was opened in November 2007 in Monterrey, Mexico) that this has been deployed outside Japan.

The BIRD production system automates the entire tyre manufacturing sequence from material processing through to final inspection of finished tyres. Not only does the procedure raise productivity by nearly 100% compared to existing company production systems, it also brings significant quality gains – especially in tyre uniformity and balance.

The production system is compact, able to handle evolving tyre designs, and can handle small batches – enabling it to respond to demand changes in specifications and volumes. Most importantly, this Japanese technology minimises the environmental impact of tyre manufacturing.

“This plant is vital for our European objective of steady, profitable growth” stated Mr Urano at the ceremony. “It is a showcase of advanced technology and a key asset in our strategy of focusing on high-value-added products in the extremely competitive European tyre market”.

FACTS AND FIGURES

Bridgestone Europe NV/SA - with European headquarters in Brussels, Belgium - is a key division of the Bridgestone Corporation. Through its subsidiary manufacturing companies it develops and produces top-quality tyres in Europe.  Its 17 subsidiary sales companies and other channels distribute the tyres all over Europe including the Eastern European markets. Products are also exported outside Europe, including to Japan.       

Dr Rainer Schieben, Managing Director of Bridgestone Germany
receives the “Achieving Excellence“ award.

It’s not only quantity but also quality that counts for John Deere. The “Achieving Excellence“ award is assigned primarily for good technical advice, outstanding delivery reliability, efficient problem solving and information exchange, and a low reject rate. Overall, the collaboration between John Deere and Bridgestone Germany is extremely successful.

As supplier of premium agricultural tyres from Firestone for the 85-, 70-, and 65- series, Bridgestone is delighted to have received this award. The newest tyre-profile „Maxi Traction“ will set new standards for John Deere tractors very soon.

Media information: G.Meylemans/D. Collins: +32 2 714 68 40

Tokyo (March 21, 2008) – Bridgestone Corporation announced today that it will increase production capacity of radial tires for aircrafts at its Tokyo Plant.

At the Bridgestone Group, new radial tires for aircrafts are currently produced only at the Kurume Plant in Fukuoka Prefecture, but it plans to begin production at the Tokyo Plant in the second half of this year. The recent decision to further increase capacity means total production capacity of radial tires for aircrafts will be 2.5 times the current level. Total investment earmarked for this project is around ¥2.5 billion, with production scheduled to start in April 2010.

Aircraft tires are subjected to harsh operating conditions imposed by repeated takeoffs and landings, while supporting heavy passenger airliners traveling at high speeds. As such, the development of aircraft tires requires a tire manufacturer to apply advanced technologies across the board. The Bridgestone Group recognizes the supply of retread tires and services as a crucial part of aircraft tire business. The Bridgestone Group has retread aircraft tire plants in North America, Europe, Asia and Japan and offers comprehensive products and services combining support for both new and retread tires.

The Bridgestone Group identifies radial tires for aircrafts as strategic products and will focus on aggressively permeating the growing market and expanding business by leveraging strong competitive advantages.
Bridgestone Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, is the world’s largest tire and rubber company. In addition to tires for use in a wide variety of applications, it manufactures a broad range of diversified products, which include industrial rubber and chemical products and sporting goods. Its products are sold in over 150 nations and territories around the world.