Bridgestone Tatabánya Celebrates 15 Years

Bridgestone Tatabánya Production Ltd. has spent close to HUF 130 billion in total on developments since it was established fifteen years ago, and by now it has become one of the most modern European tire plants of the Japan-based corporate group. And by 2023, it is bound to be altered into a fully smart factory.

Bridgestone Tatabánya achieved with a multi-stage investment that today its manufacturing capacity amounts to 6.5 million tires per year. Premium summer, winter and all-season tires of 230 different sizes are made on the production lines of one of the largest employers of Komárom-Esztergom county mainly for European and overseas markets, but significant supplies are delivered directly to international and domestic automotive players as well.

The company signed a strategic partnership agreement with the Hungarian government in 2013. Accordingly, developments have been very active lately which resulted in substantial capacity expansion. A new factory unit was set up in 2017, whereas in 2018 a HUF 9.2 billion investment led to an increased warehouse capacity of 600,000 tires. Besides a tire building equipment for manufacturing high-performance tires was purchased for EUR 1.46 million under the subsidy to improve competitiveness launched during the pandemic which further enhanced the company’s competitiveness.

“Developments in the field of digitalization and automation contribute to the fact that the Hungarian plant remains one of the facilities with highest technology standards of the corporate group. It gives me pleasure to work with so many resilient and dedicated colleagues on a daily basis. The fifteen-year anniversary pays tribute primarily to their work,” Melinda Topolcsik, managing director of Bridgestone Tatabánya Termelő Kft. said at the event.

The plant in Tatabánya is planned to be transformed into a fully smart factory by 2023, and apart from tire production semi-finished product manufacturing, energy provision, maintanance, production follow-up and design would be all fully digitized as a result, the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency reports.