The fire that destroyed the rubber mixing area at Bridgestone Corp.'s Tochigi, Japan, plant earlier this month will be responsible for a 20 billion yen drop in the company's sales this year.
Bridgestone calculates the total adverse effect of the blaze will equal about 40 billion yen.
"That total includes direct losses from fire damage, reduced income attributable to lost sales in 2003 and 2004, and the cost of rebuilding and equipping a rubber mixing shop," say Brigdestone officials.
The tiremaker will invest about 10 billion yen in building and outfitting a new rubber mixing section. Construction is expected to end one year from now.
