S8 Capital, the new owner of the Bridgestone plant in Ulyanovsk, intends to restart production by the end of 2024. This became known at a meeting between the Governor of the Ulyanovsk Region, Alexey Russkikh, and the company's management.
S8 Capital is currently busy searching for raw material suppliers for tires and manufacturing tooling, as the tread pattern will be stamped with a new one. It is expected that the plant will be rebranded in the near future and commissioning works on the equipment will begin.
Sergey Vasin, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Ulyanovsk Region, explained that S8 Capital will retain the legal entity, but will make it a branch of another enterprise. Employees will remain in their positions and have been promised to be paid the same salary as at Bridgestone.
Before the Japanese tire manufacturer left Russia, the Ulyanovsk enterprise produced 2.4 million tires per year. The new owner has not yet announced plans for the volume of production.