Bridgestone is a Japanese tyre company that was founded in 1931 by Ishibashi Shajiro in Kurume, Fukuoka in Japan. Bridgestone is currently ranked first in the hierarchy of global tyre manufacturers. Their motto of “serving society with superior quality products” was adopted in 1960, years in which Japan developed the first radial tires for trucks and buses (1962) and first radial tyres for cars (1964).
The advanced technology that Bridgestone tyres were using had revolutionized the entire industry of tire manufacturing. The company’s success was not limited to economic transactions, instead it was looking to advance the technology used for tyres. In 1982, Bridgestone was introducing studless tyres and five years later, engineers created the original design of multicells for winter tyres. The company also introduced two new theories: the roll control optimization theory and the optimization control theory for bus and truck tyres.
This technological progress gets Bridgestone entering competitions in Formula 1 in 1997. Cars equipped with Bridgestone Potenza tyres occupied four podiums in the first season. F1 tyres are different from tires used in any other motorsport, with a special print on them. Each has four wide circumferential grooves on its surface designed to limit speed during cornering. In the second season of F1 in 1998, Bridgestone won its first world championship, thanks to Mikka Hakkinen who won the team title for his team, McLaren-Mercedes.
2004 was an important year with many events and achievements which confirmed that Bridgestone was strengthening its position as a leading manufacturer of tyres in Europe. Bridgestone tires were beginning to be distributed to Team Suzuki in MotoGP starting from the 2004 season. Motorcycling is as important for Bridgestone motorsport policy just as F1, IndyCar and other motorsports. In 2005, Bridgestone has benefited from the large number of requests for its products in Japan, America, Europe and Asia. The company focused on introducing innovative, sought after products, building global manufacturing capacity, increasing productivity and improving logistics.
Net sales rose to 11% from the previous year, leading to a profit of 22.8 billion dollars. Bridgestone is never satisfied and that is the reason it is using the most advanced technology to create world-class products and services. Working to keep in the forefront of technology, they have created opportunities to expand the business. In short, they got where others can hardly get.
The business expansion in this domain is based on a well defined long-term strategy: vertical integration was the secret of the Bridgestone tyre company. In the industry, they own factories for all production and sales operations that govern the entire process of creating tyres from synthetic to natural rubber, carbon rims and steel wire insertion. The company’s future goal is to expand its field of expertise through new business models that include new systems and innovative solutions.
The tyre industry is a global business with strong local characteristics and this is true for the original equipment market and the tire replacement market. The challenge today is rebuilding the management system for the Bridgestone Group so as to succeed in a constantly changing world.