Bridgestone will establish a new plant in Celaya City Guanajuato (Mexico) that will produce polyurethane foam for automobile seats, the company said in a press release. The plant will begin production in the first half of 2015 and is expected to reach maximum production capacity of about 360,000 vehicle sets annually. Bridgestone Automotive Products de Mexico S.A. de C.V., the company’s business unit in Mexico, will operate the plant. The company is expected to shell out about JPY1.4bn (USD14.4m, 28 October 2013) for the plant that covers 45,000 square metres. Bridgestone expects to have a workforce of about 100 by 2017.
Significance: According to Bridgestone, the new plant will cater to Mexico’s growing automobile production. The plant will be Bridgestone's tenth polyurethane foam production facility globally and first such plant in Mexico. Bridgestone already has polyurethane foam plants in four other countries – China, Malaysia, Thailand and the US. Mexico has seen a surge in automotive production due to its geographical advantages. According to IHS, light vehicle sales in Mexico were up 6.6% y/y for June 2013, with sales of over 83,000 units, fuelled by improving credit conditions and ample domestic supply levels. IHS expects yearly light vehicle production to reach about four million units in Mexico by 2016.
