Oct 25 2004
Bridgestone Corporation held the official opening ceremony today for its new carbon black plant in Thailand. The plant is in Ban Khai District of Rayong Province, about 180 kilometers south of Bangkok. It operates as Bridgestone Carbon Black (Thailand) Co., Ltd., a wholly owned member of the Bridgestone Group. The new Ban Khai Plant, which began operation in May, exports carbon black to Bridgestone tire plants in Japan and in other nations. It has a production capacity of 40,000 tons a year. Bridgestone has invested about 1.7 billion baht in the Ban Khai Plant.
On hand for the opening ceremony were Saner Chanthra, governor of Rayong Province, and other government and municipal officials. Representing Bridgestone were Hiroshi Kanai, executive vice president, Akira Inohara, vice president and senior officer responsible for purchasing, and some 50 other executives and employees. Kanai emphasized Bridgestone's commitment to ensuring the success of the Ban Khai Plant in his remarks. "We are determined to position this new plant," he said, "as an Asian and as a global paragon of manufacturing carbon black."
Carbon black is a crucial raw material for tire manufacturing. It reinforces the rubber compound and increases wear resistance. Bridgestone produces carbon black in Japan at its subsidiary Asahi Carbon Co., Ltd. Bridgestone Carbon Black (Thailand)'s Ban Khai Plant is Bridgestone's first plant for producing this important raw material outside Japan.
Building independent production capabilities in strategic raw materials around the world is a stated priority for the Bridgestone Group. The group supplies some of its own demand for steel cord, synthetic rubber, and natural rubber, as well as carbon black. That supply capacity positions the Bridgestone Group as a vertically integrated manufacturer. The group can handle the entire sequence of manufacturing processes for tires and other rubber products, from raw materials to the final products. Vertical integration also strengthens the group's position in developing materials and end products and in ensuring consistently high product quality worldwide.
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