Bridgestone rolls along
For Bridgestone, the decision to increase production in Poznań was not a difficult one. In December the company announced a major programme for strengthening the operations of subsidiary Bridgestone/Firestone Europe, with the programme centring on measures to upgrade and expand production capabilities.
Bridgestone has European manufacturing plants in Spain, France and Italy. The Poznań plant, which supplies tyres to automakers and retail channels throughout Europe, is not only the company's first manufacturing facility in central and eastern Europe, but also its most modern plant anywhere in Europe, incorporating state-of-the-art technology on a par with the equipment at its plants in Japan. "So it was a logical choice to invest there," said Gert Meylemans, senior manager, corporate public relations of Bridgestone Europe.
Another factor was that the Poznań plant was built specifically for the production of high performance tyres, which are expected, by 2008, to account for 70% of output. "The fact that some of our OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) have manufacturing units in Poland also influenced our decision," Meylemans said.
He pointed out that Bridgestone's Poznań investment has not been beset by any serious problems. "The Polish government and city authorities give us indeed very good support which we really appreciate," he said.
The workforce is another positive advantage. Meylemans said: "They are smart and quickly understand what they need to do. They work seriously, respecting standards, procedures and rules. They also tackle work with a Kaizen mind." Bridgestone has introduced the concept of Kaizen, or continuous improvement, in its daily activities, along with the TeamConcept working philosophy.
As for the future, Meylemans said that it is still too early to assess what will be the impact of the country's EU entry, "but we expect it to be mainly positive, because 95% of our products are exported to EU countries." There are no plans at the moment for any more increases in production at Poznań, but this may change. As Meylemans put it, "There could be in the future, but that depends on external factors such as demand, economical climate, etc." Currently, there are no plans either for building additional production facilities in Poland or elsewhere in central and eastern Europe.
And so for the Poznań plant, the future is assured. The daily production capacity will rise from the current 10,000 tyres to 15,000 in 2004, reaching 23,000 by the end of 2006. The existing investment of €120 million will be increased by a further €200 million. As for the workforce, it currently numbers just under 600. This is expected to double by 2008.
Bridgestone has European manufacturing plants in Spain, France and Italy. The Poznań plant, which supplies tyres to automakers and retail channels throughout Europe, is not only the company's first manufacturing facility in central and eastern Europe, but also its most modern plant anywhere in Europe, incorporating state-of-the-art technology on a par with the equipment at its plants in Japan. "So it was a logical choice to invest there," said Gert Meylemans, senior manager, corporate public relations of Bridgestone Europe.
Another factor was that the Poznań plant was built specifically for the production of high performance tyres, which are expected, by 2008, to account for 70% of output. "The fact that some of our OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) have manufacturing units in Poland also influenced our decision," Meylemans said.
He pointed out that Bridgestone's Poznań investment has not been beset by any serious problems. "The Polish government and city authorities give us indeed very good support which we really appreciate," he said.
The workforce is another positive advantage. Meylemans said: "They are smart and quickly understand what they need to do. They work seriously, respecting standards, procedures and rules. They also tackle work with a Kaizen mind." Bridgestone has introduced the concept of Kaizen, or continuous improvement, in its daily activities, along with the TeamConcept working philosophy.
As for the future, Meylemans said that it is still too early to assess what will be the impact of the country's EU entry, "but we expect it to be mainly positive, because 95% of our products are exported to EU countries." There are no plans at the moment for any more increases in production at Poznań, but this may change. As Meylemans put it, "There could be in the future, but that depends on external factors such as demand, economical climate, etc." Currently, there are no plans either for building additional production facilities in Poland or elsewhere in central and eastern Europe.
And so for the Poznań plant, the future is assured. The daily production capacity will rise from the current 10,000 tyres to 15,000 in 2004, reaching 23,000 by the end of 2006. The existing investment of €120 million will be increased by a further €200 million. As for the workforce, it currently numbers just under 600. This is expected to double by 2008.
