Bridgestone 'on schedule' with plant expansion in Hungary Renamed as Gislaved Ulyanovsk, facility resumes manufacturing after two years of inactivity Ulyanovsk, Russia - Russian tire maker JSC Cordiant has resumed commercial production at the former Bridgestone factory in Ulyanovsk, the company has announced.

The official launch was held during a 19 March ceremony attended by Cordiant CEO Vadim Volodin and Alexey Mordashov, CEO of Cordiant parent company Severgroup. Cordian started the trial runs at the plant in November last year after being idle for two and a half years, said Cordiant. Renamed the Gislaved Ulyanovsk plant, the unit currently has the capacity to produce 2.4 million units of passenger car tires.

Operational since 2016, the unit is claimed to be "one of the most modern full cycle tire enterprises in the Russian federation" and has an overall capacity of 5,000 units/day. Producing Gislaved-branded tires, its product portfolio includes tires with standard sizes ranging from 13" to 19" - for cars, crossovers and SUVs, as well as tires homologated for supply to automakers as OE.

Cordiant acquired the facility from Bridgestone in December 2023, as the Japanese group exited Russia, following the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine. The launch "is important both for the sustainable development of the Cordiant holding and for the entire tire industry in Russia", said Alexey Mordashov.

The start up will have stabilizing effect on the market and will enable Cordian to meet the growing domestic demand, said Mordashov, whose Severgroup acquired Cordiant last November.