“Japanese company Bridgestone has created 100 workplaces with its latest investment at its tyre manufacturing plant in Tatabánya, with which it has also created further supplier capacities for the automotive industry, which provides the backbone of the Hungarian economy”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said at the inauguration of the facility on Tuesday.
“The Government provided 826 million forints (EUR 2.49 million) towards the 9.2 billion-forint (EUR 27.76 million) investment, which utilises state-of-the-art digital technology”, he added. With its increased capacity, Bridgestone expects to manufacture 7.2 million tyres-a-year by 2020. At the event, the plant’s new 10 thousand square metre warehouse was also inaugurated, which is capable of storing 180,000 tyres.
“Japan is the largest Asian investor in Hungary, the 160 Japanese enterprises operating in Hungary provide jobs to 35 thousand people, and in 2018 trade flow between the two countries exceeded 2 billion dollars”, Mr. Szijjártó highlighted.
The Minister added that the production value of the Hungarian automotive industry has increased by 150 percent since 2010, reaching 8500 billion forints (EUR 25.65 bn) in 2018. “The sector has contributed to enabling Hungary to achieve the highest rate of economic growth in the European Union, and also to enabling the growth of the country’s economic performance to continuously remain two percent above the EU average”, he stated. Mr. Szijjártó also pointed out that Hungary is ranked 92nd in the world with relation to its population, but ranked 20th with respect to its automotive industry production. “15 of the world’s 20 largest automotive industry suppliers have plants in Hungary”, he added.
Mayor of Tatabánya Csaba Schmidt highlighted the fact that this is Bridgestone’s third major investment in the Tatabánya-Környe Industrial Park, adding that the sixty hectares still available at the park provide an opportunity for further expansion.
Managing Director of Bridgestone Tatabánya Production Ltd. Melinda Topolcsik told reporters that the new facility now enables the company to store 600 thousand tyres. In addition to the new warehouse capacity, the company has also increased its production capacity, as well as developing it artificial intelligence-based tyre production machinery. “The company’s goal is to market forty percent of its products directly to car plants as a first-tier supplier in the near future, and to fully transform the facility into a smart plant by 2023”, the Managing Director explained.
The company has spent some 130 billion forints (EUR 390 million) to date on constructing its plant in Tatabánya, and on establishing and developing its production lines, making it one of the most modern Bridgestone production units in Europe. The plant produces car, SUV and small truck tires with high speed ratings for premium category vehicles in over 230 different sizes.
Bridgestone Tatabánya Production Ltd.’s network of suppliers is made up of some 750, in the most part Hungarian, small and medium-sized enterprises from which the company purchased goods and services at a value of 4.6 billion forints (EUR 13.9 million) last year. The company achieved 36 billion forints (EUR 108.5 million) in turnover in 2016, 53.1 billion (EUR 160 million) in 2017 and 66.5 billion forints (EUR 200.5 million) in 2018. Belgium-based Bridgestone Europe (BSEMEA) is the world’s largest tyre and rubber products manufacturer and a subsidiary of the Tokyo-based Bridgestone Corporation. The company employs over 18,300 people in 38 countries in the region, as well as operating 15 tyre and rubber products plants, a major research & development centre, and a testing centre.
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)
