On May 1, the Belgian Bekaert Group officially announced that it had completed the acquisition of the tire reinforcement (steel cord) business of Japanese tire giant Bridgestone in China and Thailand, with a transaction amount of 60 million euros (approximately 480 million yuan).
With the completion of the delivery, the original Japanese management of Bridgestone has completely withdrawn, and the two core production bases have officially changed hands.
This move is not only a key move in the strategic reorganization of both parties, but also reflects the underlying logic of the tire industry chain’s accelerated evolution toward specialized division of labor.
The two major bases in China and Thailand changed hands, and the Japanese management of the Shenyang factory resigned
The acquisition covers Bridgestone’s two core production bases in Shenyang, China and Rayong, Thailand – the original Bridgestone (Shenyang) Steel Cord Co., Ltd. and Bridgestone Metalpha (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
The two factories focus on the production of high-quality tire steel cords, with a total of approximately 550 employees and combined annual sales of approximately 80 million euros.
At present, the Shenyang factory has completed the industrial and commercial change registration, officially changed its name to “Bekaert (Shenyang) Special Steel Wire Co., Ltd.”, and has been included in Bekaert’s global manufacturing system.
What deserves special attention is that with the asset delivery, the original Japanese management has completely withdrawn.
Through this integration, Bekaert has further expanded its production layout in the Asia-Pacific region and is expected to add annual sales of approximately 80 million euros.
With the long-term supply agreement, Bekaert has gained both production capacity and orders
Different from traditional asset divestitures, the core highlight of this transaction is the long-term supply agreement signed in conjunction with it.
After the transaction is completed, Bekaert not only gains production capacity, but also achieves strategic binding with Bridgestone. It will continue to provide the latter with tire reinforcement materials that meet its quality standards, ensuring that the stability of Bridgestone’s supply chain is not affected.
Curd Vandekerckhove, CEO of Bekaert’s rubber reinforcement business, made it clear: “Our current focus is to ensure a smooth transition and operational continuity, while continuing to serve Bridgestone as an important strategic partner.” This move means that Bekaert values not only the scale of the factory’s production capacity, but also the deepening of its long-term cooperative relationship with the tire giant, which will further consolidate its leading position in the global tire reinforcement material market.
Bridgestone continues to “downsize” and abandon its upstream focus on high-end passenger cars
For Bridgestone, this sale is its 2024
– Continuation of the business restructuring strategy in the 2026 medium-term business plan.
In recent years, this global tire giant has intensively promoted the divestiture of non-core assets and gradually exited the fields of raw materials and commercial vehicle tires:
In 2021 and 2023, it will sell the Huizhou synthetic rubber factory and the Huizhou tire factory;
In 2025, the carbon black business in Thailand and Mexico will be transferred to Tokai Carbon and Cabot respectively;
In July 2025, the Shenyang commercial vehicle tire factory will be closed and sold to Sailun Tire for 265 million yuan.
This series of actions clearly shows that Bridgestone is shifting its resources to the more profitable high-end passenger car tire market.
In the context of the new energy wave promoting the transformation of tires to high performance and electrification, Bridgestone has chosen to focus on core R&D and brand building, such as providing supporting equipment for high-end models such as Lamborghini, and increasing investment in new energy tires.
Industry Observation: The separation of primary and secondary companies has become a trend, and the professional division of labor in the industrial chain has accelerated
Industry analysts pointed out that this acquisition is in line with the current general trend of supply chain integration in the automotive and tire industries.
Bridgestone, as a tire manufacturer, has divested its upstream raw material production business such as steel cords to professional suppliers and switched to external procurement, achieving optimal allocation of resources and “packing light”; while Bekaert, as a materials expert, has expanded its scale advantages through acquisitions and is expected to further reduce costs and improve material performance through technological innovation.
In the long run, this “separation of primary and secondary” specialized division of labor model has become an industry consensus – tire manufacturers focus more on product design, formula research and development and brand building, while material suppliers are deeply involved in niche areas.
The deep binding and mutual benefit between the two will effectively improve the operating efficiency and mid- to long-term competitiveness of the entire tire industry chain.
