Bridgestone India has announced partnerships with new members of the ‘Team Bridgestone’ under its Worldwide Olympic Partnership. The team comprises of Olympians and ace athletes Ms.Mary Kom (Boxing), Ms.Sakshi Malik (Freestyle Wrestling), Ms.Lalita Babar (Long-distance Running), and Mr.Srikanth Kidambi (Badminton). The group joins Bridgestone India’s first Olympics Brand Ambassador Ms.PV Sindhu as part of a global roster of more than 50 athletes on ‘Team Bridgestone’.
Speaking about the collaboration, Mr. Parag Satpute, Managing Director, Bridgestone India Pvt. Ltd. said, “It is an extremely proud moment for Bridgestone India, to join hands with a team of such talented individuals who have excelled in their respective fields with perseverance, hard work and integrity; values which resonate the ethos and beliefs of Bridgestone. These athletes will be a part of Team Bridgestone, of which Ms. P V Sindhu is also a member since August 2017. This union is aimed at making one realise their true potential and have the courage to ‘Chase Your Dream’.”
Association with Olympics
The Olympic Games are the biggest international sports platform providing a stage to numerous athletes to showcase their athletic skills. Bridgestone as one of just 13 Worldwide Olympic Partners, aims to promote and highlight these athletes. The athletes have been chosen for their relentless pursuit of success, hard work and perseverance; the key qualities which identify with Bridgestone’s ‘Chase your Dream’ manifesto. Bridgestone is focused on leveraging the goodwill of these ambassadors to connect with the masses while being a partner to their journey in Olympic Games. Bridgestone has planned an integrated approach involving customers, dealers and employees as the three pillars to scale up the union.
The company had announced its Worldwide Olympic Partnership in 2014, making a long-term commitment to the International Olympic Committee that continues through 2024. Through its business activities, Bridgestone will support this partnership by showcasing the values of community service, social responsibility, and respect for diversity that it shares with the Olympic Movement. Bridgestone also became the first Founding Partner of the Olympic Channel in August 2016, signing a four-year agreement to support the ground-breaking digital platform in its mission to celebrate the Olympic spirit and the world’s greatest athletes every day of the year.
Expansion for India
Bridgestone India Pvt Ltd that started its operations in 1996 realised its ambition of running, India manufactured Bridgestone tyres on Indian roads in 1998 when it set-up its manufacturing facility in Kheda, Madhya Pradesh. Over the years, it expanded, by setting up another facility in Chakan, Pune in 2013. In August 2017, the company had announced its expansion with an investment of 304.3 Million USD for both the Pune (Chakan) and their Indore (Kheda), plants in a phased manner over the next five years starting 2017.
Reiterating its commitment to the Indian market, Mr. Satpute said, “To meet increased tyre demand owning to growing vehicle population and production we had expanded both our plants in last August and the production capacity is expected to increase by an estimated 15,000 tyres per day, bringing total daily production from both plants to approximately 41,000 tyres by 2022.”
In a short stint of 20 years, Bridgestone India Pvt Ltd has become one of the leading tyre companies in both the OEM & Replacement market. “This is the best time for the tyre industry in India, as both PVs and CVs are doing good and with GST giving boost to infrastructure, we are going to see good growth even in commercial vehicle segment. We have a manufacturing unit for Truck and Bus Radial Tyres in Pune which started in 2013 and we are doing very well in that segment. One of the major trends is radialisation of tyres in the Indian industry and we are steadily growing both with the OEs as well as the replacement business,” informed the M.D.