The overall Tire Manufacturer of the Year Award is particularly coveted among tire manufacturers, and is given in recognition of corporate achievements over the past year. Bridgestone secured the prize in recognition of its expansion of Technical Centre Europe, its OTR tire investments, its social investments, and its work with the Airbus A380 superjumbo tires.

“We are proud and honored to have won the Manufacturer of the Year award. This is an important recognition of our efforts and commitment, both toward the tire industry and society, and as a global company. We have global commitments such as our R&D center in Rome, our fully automated plant in Hungary, and now our latest truck tire plant, which is under construction in Poland. But as a company we have a duty toward society and this only a small part of our commitment as a society rubber company,” said Barbara Secchi, materials manager in the tire materials development center at Bridgestone, when collecting the award.

“We as a company are extremely proud having won the 2008 award for the Manufacturer of the Year,” added Takashi Urano, chairman, CEO, and president of Bridgestone Europe. “Bridgestone’s achievements on a European and international level will consolidate our position as a truly global leader in the rubber and tire business, both in name and reality. Thank you for the award!”

The other strong contenders for this award were Apollo, for its green initiatives and its expansion into Europe; Michelin, for its fuel-saving endeavors and investments in research and academia; and Kumho, for its active foreign expansion program and its China Technical Center.

Top picture: Barbara Secchi collects the award