Bridgestone
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The Bridgestone Tire Company (株式会社ブリヂストン) was founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (石橋 正二郎 Ishibashi Shōjirō) in the city of Kurume, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a literal translation and transposition of ishibashi, meaning "stone bridge" in Japanese.
After World War II Bridgestone started manufacturing motorcycles, but its main income was from supplying tires to its rival motorcycle makers such as Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha and it was later decided to cease motorcycle manufacturing.
In 1988 it acquired American tire manufacturer Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.
Bridgestone supplies tires to the Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi Formula One teams. Until the middle of the 2005 Formula One season, Bridgestone tires on the whole performed poorly compared to Michelin, despite Ferrari and Michael Schumacher winning several World Championships. However, at the 2005 United States Grand Prix, Michelin advised their teams that they could not guarantee the safety of their tires, after several failures during practice. All 14 Michelin runners retired after the installation (parade) lap, leaving the six Bridgestone runners to compete the race, which Michael Schumacher won.
The Bridgestone Cycle co., Ltd. offers bicycles under its own brand and under the Anchor brand.
External links
- Official site (http://www.bridgestone.co.jp/english/index.html)
- Bridgestone Bicycles (in Japanese) (http://www.bscycle.co.jp/index.html)
- Anchor Bikes (in Japanese) (http://www.anchor-bikes.com/)
Data
- Yahoo! - Bridgestone Corporation Company Profile (http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/41/41861.html)de:Bridgestone