Bridgestone adding Thai tire plant
TOKYO-Bridgestone Corp. will build a radial truck and bus tire plant in Thailand-its third tire plant in that country-at a cost of $139 million.
The plant, located about 60 miles south of Bangkok, will begin operation in the second half of 2004 with a daily production capacity of 2,500 tires. It will export tires to the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as other Southeast Asian nations, Bridgestone said.
Pirelli to supply Maserati exclusively
MILAN, Italy-Pirelli S.p.A. will be a major supplier of tires and tire technology to Ferrari Maserati Group as part of an agreement effective until 2005, with an optional two-year extension, the company said.
Under the agreement, Pirelli will supply its P Zero line of tires to Maserati, the sports car maker that is now owned by Ferrari. The original P Zero line was created for Ferrari in the mid-1980s.
Pirelli tires will be exclusive on Maserati cars for the Maserati Trophy race series in 2003 and the GT race circuit in the U.S. in 2004. The tires also will be standard equipment on Maserati's street cars.
Apollo gets finance support for plant
WASHINGTON-Indian tire maker Apollo Tyres Ltd. has secured International Finance Corp. financing for a $51 million radial truck tire project at Vadodara, Gujarat, and upgrades of existing facilities.
IFC, the private sector lending arm of the World Bank, has arranged a $35 million support package for the two-year project. The World Bank unit will put up $20 million of the loan with the remaining $15 million syndicated to other banks, IFC said.