The world's largest tyre-maker, Bridgestone Corporation, today said it will set up its second plant in the country at an investment of Rs 2,600-crore to cater to the fast-growing automobile market, a top company official said.
"We will be investing Rs 2,600-crore in phases to set up our second plant at Chakan, near Pune. This plant will begin passenger car radial tyre (PSR) production and truck and bus radial tyre (TBR) production to cater to the growing demand for these tyres in India," Bridgestone Corporation's Vice-President and Sales Officer, International Operation, Takashi Urano, told reporters here.
The plant is scheduled to start turning out passenger car radial tyres and truck and bus radial tyres from January 2013 and August 2013, Urano said
"Initially, the Pune plant will cater to demand from India. We will decide to export tyres from this plant later. Our main focus will be Indian market," he said.
"We will able to produce 10,000 units of PSR 3,000 units of TBR per day by 2020," he said.
Bridgestone already makes tyres for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in Indore, in Madhya Pradesh and plans to start passenger car radial tyres in 2011.
"We are currently producing 13,500 tyres per day at our Indore plant which will increase to 15,000 by this year- end," Bridgestone India's Managing Director, Hiromi Tanigawa, said after inking an MoU with the Maharashtra Government today.
"We will start making tyres for trucks and buses at our Indore plant in the first half of 2011 and will increase capacity to 400 units per day by the second half of 2012," Tanigawa said.
Bridgestone Corporation has 190 plants in 26 countries and manufacturing products for over 150 markets.
"We are very unique in the tyre industry and aim to capture a significant market share in the country," he said.
