Bridgestone Retail Operations LLC (BSRO), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bridgestone Corp., will acquire The Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack, one of America’s leading automotive aftermarket chains, in an all-cash transaction, purchasing all outstanding shares at approximately $835 million in aggregate equity value. Bridgestone’s biggest acquisition to date was the $2.6 billion purchase in 1988 of The Firestone...
Nihon Michelin Tire Co. Ltd. has announced that Paul Perriniaux, executive operating officer, will take over as president from Bernard Delmas, who will assume the title of chairman. Perriniaux joined Nihon Michelin in 1995 in truck and bus marketing. He was regional manager of Michelin Tyre PLC (U.K.) in 2001 and IT project manager at the France head office from...
Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. has developed Gyroblade, a technology for airless tires that never go flat because they do not need to be inflated, and Coreseal, a tire sealant technology that prevents air leakage from damage to tire treads. Both are on display at the 44th Tokyo Motor Show. The Gyroblade technology consists of a tire tread attached to the circumference...
Masaaki Tsuya, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Bridgestone Corp., spoke with the Japan Rubber Weekly about the ongoing restructuring of the company’s development and manufacturing center in Tokyo’s Kodaira district. After the Kurume plant, the Tokyo plant has the second longest history of any of Bridgestone’s plants, and along with its Yokohama chemical and industrial products base, also...
The logistics industry, the main source of demand for truck and bus radial tires (TBRs), now faces a range of challenges to reduce costs and environmental impact. Among others these include rising fuel prices and the need to procure new vehicles to comply with emissions restrictions. One solution recently promoted by tire manufacturers is to offer tire sets that include both new and...
Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. set up a “Tire+Art” themed booth at the Tokyo Design Week 2015. The booth had on display a sculpture of a lion made using old Toyo tires created by Korean artist Ji Yong Ho, who specializes in tire art. Ji, who created this work on a request from Toyo Tires, said, “The reason I...
