Bridgestone/Firestone Americas Holding Inc. will be renamed Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc. on Jan. 1, 2003.

The change will be made "in order to build a strong, high performance corporate identity under the Bridgestone name," while allowing the subsidiary to "build strong brand identities" for its products, say Bridgestone officials.

Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire LLC's name will remain the same, according to a Bridgestone/Firestone spokesperson.

Also on Jan. 1, Bridgestone's European operations will be renamed Bridgestone Europe SA.