Bridgestone at a glance
Bridgestone was founded in 1931 in Kurume, Japan. The founder's surname, Shojiro Ishibashi, means "stone bridge" in Japanese. He translated it into English and swapped the words round – and so Bridgestone was born. The company grew quickly and moved its headquarters to Tokyo. In 1988 Bridgestone bought America's Firestone, securing its place among the world's largest tyre manufacturers.
Bridgestone is a listed company that also owns Firestone. Its European tyres are made mainly in the group's factories in Poland, Hungary, Spain and Italy. Bridgestone belongs to the premium price bracket. Like Michelin and Continental, it offers a wide range, from small cars all the way to sports cars and SUVs. Many European carmakers fit Bridgestone tyres to new cars straight from the factory.
Bridgestone's best-known winter range is Blizzak. For Central European conditions there are the Blizzak 6 and Blizzak LM005; for the Nordic countries, the Blizzak Spike-3 studded tyre and Nordic friction tyres. Among Bridgestone's summer tyres, the Turanza 6 focuses on comfort and the Potenza Sport on sporty driving. For year-round driving, Bridgestone offers the Turanza All Season 6. For SUVs and 4x4s, Bridgestone has the Dueler range, such as the Dueler All Terrain A/T002.