Bridgestone to invest Rs 2,600 cr in Pune

With an aim to tap the growing Indian automobile industry, tyre-maker Bridgestone India, plans to set up a plant at an investment of Rs 26 billion (Rs 2,600 crore) near Pune. The plant will begin the production of passenger car radial tyres and truck and bus radial tyres to cater to the growing demand of tyres in India in the next three-years, said a company  release on Tuesday.

The company plans to invest around Rs 2,600-crore in a phased manner. The PSR production will begin in January 2013 and the TBR production in August 2013. The production capacity will reach 10,000 units of PSR and 3,000 units of TBR per day by 2020, the release said.

Bridgestone has inked an understanding with the Maharashtra Government for acquiring around 7,70,000 square metres of land at Chakan Industrial Area near Pune. "We will put more focus on the Indian market than ever and are looking for newer possibilities to grow in terms of volumes and numbers," Bridgestone India's Managing Director, H Tanigawa, said.

Bridgestone India is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation. It already has one plant at Pithampur near Indore, Madhya Pradesh, which produces PSR tyres and currently has about 1,280 employees and plans to start the production of TBR tyres there in 2011.