DILSEN-STOKKEM, Belgium — Bandag Europe N.V., a subsidiary of Bridgestone Corp., said it will close its tread rubber plant in Lanklaar, Belgium, in 2025 due to a decline in demand.
The company said recently it has started the consultation process with the plant's works council, with the aim of closing the unit in the first half of 2025, affecting 111 jobs.
The move, it said, is due to a "significant decrease" in the European retread market over the last 10 years, resulting in "overcapacity and uncompetitive production costs."
According to Bandag, demand for truck/bus retreads in Europe has dropped by 30% in the past decade, mainly due to the import of low-cost tires from Asia.
The company said retread sales have "continued to decline" in Europe, with costs further impacted by high energy prices and inflation in recent years.
In response to these challenges, Bandag said it had instigated a range of structural initiatives, including a "transformation plan" at the Lanklaar site, launched in 2021.
This program, said the company, will see Bandag centralize "current and future production capabilities" at a single location. Bridgestone/Bandag produces tread rubber at one other site in Europe, at its truck tire plant in Stargard, Poland, which the firm said is considered "the only remaining option to ensure a future for the company's retread business in Europe."
Bridgestone declined to say how many Bandag franchisees it has in Europe or how many franchised retread plants are in operation.
The situation is vastly different from that in North America, where Bridgestone has committed $60 million to expand tread rubber capacity at a plant in Abilene, Texas, to keep pace with growing demand.
In late 2022, Bridgestone projected 9% growth in the sale of Bandag-system retreads due to "unprecedented" demand i— the market then.
Bandag-system retreads are produced by dozens of independent retreaders throughout the U.S. and Canada at 200-plus retread plants. Bridgestone claims the 7 million-plus units produced by the network of Bandag franchisees represent over half of the North American market for medium truck/bus tire retreads.
