Bridgestone 2004 Annual Report Download - page 15

13
Regional Review
In 2005, we project a double-digit decline in operating income at Bridgestone Corporation, the
Tokyo-based parent company of the Bridgestone Group. That projection is on the basis of our
expectations of (1) a continuing upward trend in raw material prices, (2) the further appreciation of
the yen against the dollar, and (3) an increase in depreciation expenses. We project that sales at
Bridgestone Corporation will increase about 4%, led by export growth.
Efforts to fortify our position in the Japanese market for replacement tires continue to center on
qualitative improvements in our sales networks and in our sales portfolio. We will accompany those
improvements with strategic product introductions, including the newly launched Playz line of
comfort-oriented tires. Playz has been an immediate success, and the brand is contributing visibly
to invigorating our retail sales presence.
Improvements in riding comfort earned widened interest in our runflat tires among automakers. In
another safety technology, we improved the AIRCEPT units for our GREATEC extra-wide tires. An
AIRCEPT unit maintains the tire shape after a loss of air pressure to allow the drive to stop safely.
Also in 2004, we began work with Continental on tire-pressure sensors for truck and bus tires.
An improved version of our in-wheel system for electric vehicles (page 9) captured attention at
international motor shows in 2004. Also new was our terramechanical simulation, which allows for
visualizing soil as it is compacted under a rolling tire. A new era in production technology dawned
as we began mass-producing tires in Japan with our revolutionary BIRD production system.
R&D topics in diversified products included refinements in our Quick Response Liquid Powder
Displays (QR-LPD). Those displays, based on our Electronic Liquid Powder, retain their images
after the electrical power has been turned off, and they are rewritable by remote control.
We announced the world’s first mass-production technology for film-type filters for plasma
display panels (PDPs). Television manufacturers use optical filters on plasma display panels to
prevent glare and to block electromagnetic emissions. Conventional filter technology has entailed
applying numerous layers of filter material, but our filters require only three layers, which simplifies
manufacturing. The new filters and the technology for mass-producing them are the results of
original breakthroughs in precision coating and in materials design.
Fuji, a bottle-nose dolphin at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, has received a
prosthetic fin courtesy of Bridgestone. Around October 2002, Fuji contracted a
disease that caused progressive deterioration of her tail fin. Amputating most of
the fin saved Fuji’s life but left her unable to swim well. Employee volunteers at
Bridgestone went to work on a prosthesis for Fuji in December 2002. They subse-
quently assembled a project team to tap the full range of Bridgestone technology.
The team delivered its first prototype in September 2003 and has since supplied
a series of improved versions. Fuji, a 235-kilogram female, has regained her
swimming ability since receiving the prosthesis. The miraculously rejuvenated
dolphin returned to public view at the aquarium in July 2004. Since August, she
has been delighting her keepers, visitors, and the Bridgestone engineers with
jumps that carry her completely out of the water.
Our affiliated networks of tire retailers—
Tire Kan, Mr. Tireman, and Cockpit—have
been strategically invaluable in shaping our
marketing in Japan.
We are concentrating our Japanese tire
production on high-value-added products.
The Tosu Plant, shown here, was the first
plant in the Bridgestone Group to mass-
produce runflat tires.
Research and
development
Challenges in 2005