Bridgestone 2002 Annual Report Download - page 18

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 18 of the 2002 Bridgestone annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 57

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57

16
Bridgestone’s Quick-Response Liquid Powder
Displays (
photos
) are superior to reflection-type
liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Engineers at the
company are working on commercial versions
of the displays. They are eyeing applications in
cellular telephones, personal digital assistants
and other portable electronic devices and in the
emerging market for so-called electronic paper.
The displays contain Bridgestone’s Electro
Liquid Powder, which generates greater bright-
ness, much faster response and a broader range
of viewing angles than comparable reflection-
type LCDs do.
Building profitable business
Future Tech
“We are changing the way that we allocate resources in diversified operations,”
explains Bridgestone CEO Watanabe. “We are reviewing our entire portfolio of diversi-
fied products. We are identifying markets where we are or can be a market leader—
the supplier that serves the largest or second-largest share of the market—on the
strength of original technology. We will withdraw from product sectors that do not
fulfill that criterion.”
Bridgestone Group companies already are market leaders in most of the diversified
products that the group handles. That includes a broad range of materials, components
and fixtures for industrial and civil engineering applications, along with successful lines
of sporting goods and bicycles. It also includes promising footholds in high-technology
products for the semiconductor, information technology and energy sectors.
Among the Bridgestone Group’s newest products, the fastest growing is a line of
ceramic items for semiconductor manufacturing. Bridgestone has become a leading
supplier of precision rollers, meanwhile, to manufacturers of copy machines and other
office equipment. New products announced in 2002 include an electronic display tech-
nology (
above
) and an additive for rendering the electrolytic solution in lithium batteries
nonflammable without diminishing battery performance. Lithium batteries provide higher
voltage and longer life in smaller, lighter packages than nickel-cadmium batteries or
nickel-metal-hydride batteries. But the flammability of their electrolytic fluid has limited
their applicability mainly to small items. The Bridgestone additive could make them
practical in larger applications, such as electric vehicles.