Firestone Industrial Products Company, LLC, (Firestone) is the manufacturer of the World’s Number 1 Air Spring for heavy-duty trucks and trailers, cars, pickup trucks, buses, rail cars and industrial uses for more than 70 years. A subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas, Firestone entered the Asian and Indian air spring markets in 1990 and 1992, respectively.
In 2004, the company started an assembly operation in China, followed by the 2006 opening of an office in India. Firestone entered into a joint venture relationship with Sundaram Industries Ltd. of the TVS Group in 2007 to manufacture air springs at its greenfield facility in Madurai. The following year, the company started production in Madurai and also opened a distribution centre in Singapore. In 2011, the company established a new sales office in Gurgaon, and also a manufacturing plant in Tianjin, China.
“The Firestone and Bridgestone brands have a legacy of strong brand loyalty. Together, the companies bring a number of synergies. Millions of dollars of investments in R&D activities are reflected in the quality of Firestone and Bridgestone products, and reinforce the success of our strong relationships in India. From the alignment of our cultural ethics and values, to Firestone’s manufacturing and technology expertise and TVS’ distribution and customer service experience in the automotive market, the relationship has helped to revolutionize suspension technology in India,” said Mr. Arun Kumar, Managing Director, Asia, of Firestone Industrial Products. “Our greenfield, efficient manufacturing plant in Madurai, with more than 90 employees, and a sales office in Chennai have allowed us to maintain the same high quality as our other global manufacturing plants.”
World’s Number 1 Air Spring
Firestone Industrial Products is a major supplier to Taco Hendrickson, Wheels India of the TVS Group and Duroshox in India. “In India, nearly 90 percent of our products are consumed by the automotive industry (for commercial vehicles) and the rest by other industries. We cater only to the heavy vehicle segment in India, whereas in Europe and America, we also cater to the passenger car and light commercial vehicle segments.” said Mr. Kumar.
Arun operates out of Gurgaon, and heads the company’s Asian business headquarters, which oversees its Indian, Chinese and Asia-Pacific businesses. “With the rich experience of our JV partner, we are beginning to export our products to neighboring countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan,” said Mr. Kumar.”These markets are still in the developmental stage.
