Cordiant restarts former Bridgestone tire plant in Ulyanovsk

MOSCOW. Nov 21 (Interfax) - The Gislaved tire plant in Ulyanovsk, which was previously owned by Bridgestone but is now part of Cordiant Group, has successfully resumed production, Cordiant's press service said.

"The relaunch of the Ulyanovsk site is starting with production of a new summer model that will be produced under the Cordiant brand. In 2025, the plant's assortment will start to gradually expand, including with models of the Gislaved premium brand. Production of winter tires is scheduled to start in the the first half of 2025," Cordiant said.

"All standard testing and certification needed to resume production, confirming the safety of the products and readiness to start sales, have been completed," the group said.

The group plans to produce 1.2 million tires at the plant in 2025, which amounts to half its annual capacity of 2.4 million tires.

Bridgestone shut down tire production in Ulyanovsk in March 2022 and in December 2023 the Japanese company sold its tire business in Russia to S8 Capital, which consolidated it into tire maker Cordiant. In October 2024, Cordiant was acquired by Severgroup, the investment company of Russian billionaire Alexei Mordashov.

Cordiant has capacity to produce 15 million tires per year, with plants in Yaroslavl (capacity of 3.6 million tires), Omsk (5.5 million), Kaluga Region (formerly owned by Continental, 3.5 million) and Ulyanovsk (formerly Bridgestone, 2.4 million). It was reported earlier that the company plans to reach full capacity at all plants by 2026 and is considering exporting tires to Latin America, Africa and the Persian Gulf.