Tire manufacturer Bridgestone has started the full-scale operation of the Bridgestone Innovation Park, the company’s global innovation hub in Kodaira City, Tokyo, Japan. This follows the opening of two new Bridgestone facilities: the B-Innovation innovation center and the B-Mobility proving ground.
Bridgestone’s Tokyo plant was established in 1960, with a technology center constructed in 1962. The facilities are a core part of the tire maker’s R&D and production processes and Bridgestone has now redeveloped the premises into a multifunctional innovation hub. The facility will be used to foster interactions between the company, its customers and stakeholders through co-ideation, co-creation and co-R&D to realize new value.
B-Innovation houses the Bridgestone Open Innovation Hub, an area where people can engage with some of the tire manufacturer’s core technologies and products to foster new ideas. The B-Innovation center includes the Co-creation Office and the Rough Prototyping Studio, where machine tools can be used to create new ideas. Furthermore, the B-Mobility site will act as a proving ground for Bridgestone, enabling products to be efficiently evaluated in terms of performance. The facility will also be used to investigate the potential of prototype mobility technologies and products.
