Bridgestone has major manufacturing plants in many countries around the world. As of 1 April 2011, Bridgestone has 47 tire plants, 29 tire-related plants, 19 raw materials plants, 89 diversified product plants, 4 technical centers, and 11 proving grounds globally.
In January 2026, it was announced that Bridgestone had agreed to sell its tyre reinforcement business in China and Thailand to Bekaert for €60 million. The sale forms part of Bridgestone’s strategy to enhance competitiveness and includes a long-term tyre cord supply agreement.
Bridgestone Australia is headquartered in Eastwood, an inner-southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia.
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Beginning as the SA Rubber Mills in 1939, Bridgestone took over the Australian plants which were at that time operated by the Uniroyal Tyre Company in 1980. Bridgestone Australia had a major manufacturing tire factory in Australia: located in Salisbury, a northern suburb of Adelaide (this plant was eventually decommissioned in April 2011). Bridgestone has State Offices in all states of Australia, and has a large number of retail outlets across the country.
In 2000 Bridgestone Australia Ltd. purchased the BANDAG Retreading plant and its operations in Australia. Bandag Manufacturing Pty Limited has 35 franchised dealers across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Nouméa. Bandag Manufacturing Pty Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bridgestone Australia Limited, and operates under license to Bandag Incorporated. In 2006 Bridgestone purchased Bandag Incorporated, which is now a subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation.
From the purchase in 1981, the Australian operations of Bridgestone have been run as a publicly listed company on the Australian Stock exchange. Bridgestone Corporation has maintained a majority share holding. As of mid-2007 the Australian operation was delisted from the Australian Stock exchange and became a solely owned Division of Bridgestone Corporation (pending minority shareholder approval as per Australian Corporate Law).
Following the cancellation on Friday, 11 May 2007, of all shares held by minority shareholders, Bridgestone Australia Ltd. became a wholly owned subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation of Japan. The selective capital reduction and subsequent privatisation which cost $49 million was approved and completed. Bridgestone Australia Ltd. was delisted from the ASX on 30 May 2007.
Europe
Bridgestone EU has its head office in Brussels, Belgium, and was set up in 1990 as Bridgestone/Firestone Europe SA. Before that, a representative office in Belgium set up in 1972 and sales subsidiary companies and importers in each countries were selling products imported from Japan. There are 7 production plants in the region and a 32 hectare research and development centre near Rome, Italy. The company distributes more than 25 million tires a year through 17 national sales subsidiaries and 2 distributors. They directly employ over 12,000 people with Mr. Tsuda as CEO.
At present there are national headquarters in the following locations: Vienna, Austria; Prague, Czech Republic; Hinnerup, Denmark; Vantaa, Finland; Fresnes, France; Bad Homburg, Germany; Athens, Greece; Budapest, Hungary; Dublin, Ireland; Milan, Italy; Moerdijk, Netherlands; Oslo, Norway; Warsaw, Poland; Alcochete, Portugal; Madrid, Spain; Sundsvall, Sweden; Spreitenbach, Switzerland; İstanbul, Turkiye (Manufacturing in Kocaeli) and Warwick, UK.
Bridgestone EU runs a continent-wide scheme called Truckpoint wherein fleets can take their vehicles to any Bridgestone approved garage throughout Europe and get Bridgestone specialist work carried out on their tires.
There are no Bridgestone factories in the United Kingdom but there is a technical bay at which tyres returned by dissatisfied customers are inspected in Coventry.
The plant at Ulyanovsk, Russia and the marketing office in Moscow were sold in December 2023 as Bridgestone withdrew from the Russian market, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
North America
As part of reinforcement plans, the company purchased a plant in Tennessee from the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, its first manufacturing plant in North America, and started the production of radial tires for trucks and buses in 1983. Bridgestone also has a steel cord plant in Clarksville, Tennessee, named Bridgestone Metalpha. Metalpha is currently ranked as the top provider in the global steel cord market.
In May 1988, a takeover bid of America's No. 2 tire manufacturer, Akron, Ohio–based Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, was successful, and Firestone was placed under the Bridgestone umbrella as a subsidiary company. This purchase brought a large number of Firestone global production sites into the Bridgestone organization. These sites included North America, Central and South America, Europe, New Zealand and other locations. Bridgestone also commenced production in Turkey. In 1992, the company established regional corporate offices in Europe and the Americas.
Nashville-based Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSA) is the American subsidiary of the Bridgestone Corporation. BSA and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market Bridgestone, Firestone, and associate brand tires for consumers, automotive and commercial vehicle original equipment manufacturers, and those in the agricultural, forestry and mining industries. The companies also produce air springs, synthetic rubber, and industrial fibers and textiles. Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC (BSRO), a subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas, operates one of the largest chains of company-owned auto care and tire stores in the United States, under the Firestone Complete Auto Care, Tires Plus, Hibdon Tires Plus, and Wheel Works brands. As of 2024, BSRO operated more than 2,200 stores and employed nearly 22,000 people.
In November 2010, ASA Automotive Systems Inc. was selected by the Consumer Tire Sales division of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC (BATO) as the software provider for their North American consumer dealers to supply the industry's leading 'All-in-One' Point-of-Sale, Accounting and Inventory shop management software.
In 2014, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) unveiled its newly rebranded GCR Tires & Service division. With one of the largest network of commercial stores across the country, GCR's reach extends nationwide. The letters of GCR reflect the last names of the original company founders Balie Griffith, Harold Crawford and Perry Rose.
In 2015, Bridgestone Americas Inc. signed a deal giving its dealers the option to install digital air calibration machines from Excel Tire Gauge Inc. in their stores. The digital air calibration machines streamline the tire inflation process by automatically inflating or deflating tires.
In 2017, Bridgestone Americas consolidated many of their business units into a single building in downtown Nashville, Bridgestone Tower. Nearly 2,000 employees work in the new skyscraper, nestled between the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
In April 2020, due to demand by essential service providers during COVID-19 pandemic in Tennessee, Bridgestone Americas announced plans to restart its North American commercial tire plants as well as its North American Firestone Industrial Products and Firestone Building Products manufacturing facilities.
Diversified products
The predecessors of Bridgestone began making diversified products in the 1930s, soon after they started making tires. Today, Bridgestone diversified operations encompass automotive components, industrial products, polyurethane foam products, construction materials, parts and materials for electronic equipment, bicycles and sporting goods. Diversified business generates about one-fourth of total sales in the Bridgestone Group.
Automotive parts are an especially large line of business for Bridgestone in diversified operations. Bridgestone supplies automakers with vibration-isolating components, such as engine mounts. Bridgestone also supplies air springs for trucks, automobiles and train carriages. Bridgestone market aluminium wheels and other automotive accessories, too.
Industrial products
Bridgestone's industrial products span a vast range, including polyurethane foam for automotive seats and interiors, for bedding and furniture and for insulation and sealing in appliances and buildings; water hoses; marine hoses for loading and unloading oil tankers; specialty precision hose products, such as wire-blade hose for construction equipment and machine tools; conveyor belts; and rubber tracks for crawler tractors. Additionally, they make retreaded tires for aircraft. Their corporate headquarters for the Bridgestone Aircraft tire division is located in Miami, Florida.
The Bridgestone product line in construction and civil engineering materials is similarly broad. Bridgestone supply Multi-Rubber Bearings for installing in foundations to protect buildings from earthquakes, inflatable rubber dams for managing waterways (no longer manufactured – 2008), marine fenders for protecting wharves, additives for pavement, waterproofing sheet, rubberized ceiling and roofing materials, panel tanks for storing water, bath fixtures and residential flooring, air and water systems.
Bridgestone's line of products for electronic equipment includes precision rollers for office machines and functional films for solar cells and plasma displays. In sporting goods, Bridgestone market golf balls and clubs and tennis balls and rackets. Bridgestone's line of bicycles is Japan's most extensive – see above information re. Anchor Cycles.
Bridgestone Commercial Services Group (Bandag)
On 5 December 2006, Bridgestone Americas and Bandag, Inc. announced a merger agreement whereby Bridgestone would acquire Muscatine, Iowa–based Bandag, Inc., a leading truck tire re-treader that was founded in 1957 and had over 900 franchised dealers worldwide at the time. In announcing the merger, Bridgestone's president in Tokyo explained: Higher fuel prices are prompting customers to cut costs [by using retreads]. It takes time and costs to develop this size of business. We were able to get that all at once.
The transaction was valued at approximately US$1.05 billion. On 31 May 2007, the agreement was consummated and Bridgestone Americas acquired the outstanding shares of Bandag stock for US$50.75 per share. The unit was renamed Bridgestone Bandag, LLC and Saul Solomon was appointed to the position of chairman, CEO and President. Previously, Solomon served as Vice President and General Counsel of BSAH. In the four years following the acquisition, Bandag's headquarters remained in Muscatine, although some processes and functions were consolidated and/or transferred to other facilities. In November 2010, corporate headquarters were moved to Nashville. In May 2011, the unit was renamed Bridgestone Commercial Services Group, eliminating the name "Bandag."
Bicycles
The Bridgestone Cycle Co Ltd. originated in 1949. It offers bicycles under its own brand and under the Anchor brand.
At one time, Bridgestone marketed bicycles under the name Kabuki.
The U.S. marketing director of the Bicycle division, Grant Petersen, developed a reputation for resisting popular trends in the bicycle industry and instead followed his own personal philosophy of building dependable and comfortable bicycles. Peterson applied this approach to Rivendell Bicycle Works after Bridgestone stopped marketing bicycles in the U.S.
The company was an innovator in the emerging mountain bike scene, designing nimbler mountain bikes with shorter chain-stays and steeper frame angles than other popular bikes.
Until 1986, Bridgestone models were numbered in multiples of 100, with the higher numbers indicating a higher end bike. The entry level road bike in 1986, for example, may have been the Bridgestone 100, while the Bridgestone 700 would have been a competition level race bike. Beginning in 1987 there was a change, with model designations consisting of two letters followed by a numeral. The letters indicated the type of bike, and the number indicated the position in the product lineup. The numbering was also reversed, with the smaller numbers indicating a higher position in the product line. For example, the RB-1 would have been the top-of-the-line road bike, followed by the RB-2, RB-3, etc.
Bridgestone is currently building frames in Japan for keirin track racing under Nihon Jitensha Shinkokai approved standards. It is currently producing non-NJS frames for the Japanese market as well.
In Japan, it is known as a manufacturer of utility, mountain and (under the brand name Anchor) road racing bikes.
Bridgestone has also collaborated with Alex Moulton to produce the Bridgestone Moulton Bicycle and marketed its own folding bicycle, the Bridgestone Picnica.
Bridgestone also released a range of BMX Bicycles in 1981–1982 known as the MKI & MKII.
Motorcycles
Bridgestone motorcycles were a division of the company that produced mopeds and motorcycles from 1952 to 1970. Initially producing power assisted bicycles, the division moved on to producing mopeds and then motorcycles. The motorcycles were technologically advanced and powered by two-stroke engines. The high technical specification resulted in the machines being more expensive compared to other manufacturers models. Production was stopped in 1970 to protect the supply of tires to other manufacturers.
Bridgestone Aircraft Tire
Bridgestone Aircraft Tire (USA) is a manufacturer of aircraft tires as well as retread servicing. Bridgestone Americas Holdings announced in May 2006 that it would be moving its Miami, Florida aviation operation to its new 160,000-square-foot (15,000 m2) facility located in Mayodan, North Carolina, this move is expected to be completed by mid-2007 and will create approximately 95 new jobs. CEO and President of Bridgestone Aircraft Tire (USA) Joe Rayna is quoted as saying; "This move allows us to continue to prepare for a changing market, both in demand and in product mix, New modern aircraft, such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A380, arrive fitted with new Bridgestone technology aircraft tires, and this new facility will complement that technology". Bridgestone Aircraft Tire (USA) has been a major supplier of aircraft tires and retreads to the aircraft industry for over 70 years and has sister aviation facilities in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Belgium.
Golf products
Bridgestone Golf is a division of Bridgestone, and is the brand name under which Bridgestone's Golfing Products are marketed. Bridgestone has been producing golf-related products since 1935. The Golf division of Bridgestone currently produces clubs, balls and accessories. Along with technical developments in tire technology came breakthroughs in golf ball technology that have led Bridgestone to be the number one golf ball producer in Japan.
Design and production of golf clubs followed in 1972.
Bridgestone has global coverage of its golfing products with major divisions in USA (Bridgestone Golf USA), Australia (Bridgestone Golf Australia) and Korea (Sokio Corporation).
Dolphin artificial caudal fin
In 2003, the caudal fin of Fuji, a Bottlenose dolphin bred at the Okichan Theater of Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, was necrotic, necessitating the removal of 75% of the fin which made swimming impossible. The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium started a project to develop the world's first artificial dolphin caudal fin in cooperation with Bridgestone to replace Fuji's fin. In the early days, the artificial caudal fin could not be installed well because it could not withstand the swimming of dolphins, but aquariums made improvements and succeeded in installing the artificial caudal fin of the dolphin.
In 2010, it was also installed in Pacific white-sided dolphin named Lanan, who was bred in Notojima Aquarium, and succeeded in installing the second artificial caudal fin in the world.
