Bridgestone Philippines celebrates 60 years

To mark 60 colorful years in business, Philippine Allied Enterprises Corp. (PAEC), the country’s official Bridgestone distributor, organized back-to-back celebrations and the launch of the new Ecopia product line. Inspired by the theme “Passion of a Journey,” Bridgestone shared with the motoring industry their journey to excellence and passion with products not just providing comfort and safety to their users but also caring for the environment.

 

PAEC was founded in 1954 by Teodoro Y. Tagle, who was responsible for introducing the Japanese brand Bridgestone into the local market.   Six decades later, it is his grandson Marc Tagle who now serves as the president and CEO.  Marc was molded by his grandfather to adopt core values that have allowed PAEC to grow and become one of the biggest players in the industry.

 

Ecopia: 3 km more travel

 

Ecopia is one of the banner products of Bridgestone and the centerpiece of Bridgestone’s ongoing green campaign. It was derived from the phrase “Ecological Utopia.”  Not only are these tires designed to contribute in saving Mother Earth, Ecopia products are also made through a greener process.  Ecopia tires, aside from their superior performance in wet and dry conditions, are made to save fuel by giving users more distance.

 

Bridgestone did an internal test in coordination with the Automobile Association Philippines which affirmed that Bridgestone’s Ecopia tires give an additional three kilometers of travel for every liter of fuel as compared with conventional tires.  The test was done mimicking real-life settings such as air-conditioning use, driving changes and highway traveling at an average speed of 80 kph.

 

PAEC also let the motoring media discover Bridgestone’s “more travel for less fuel” pitch through an activity-laden road trip.  Three-man teams using Toyota Vios units fitted with the Ecopia tires drove from Makati City to Clark for a fuel-efficiency challenge. While en route to their final destination and with fuel economy in mind, the journalists were made to participate in ultralight flying, karting, knee-boarding, zip-lining and tree-planting. The more activities done, the more points the teams got.

 

The winning team from Autoreview got a total of 30.29 kpl fuel consumption.

 

Ecopia’s fuel-saving capabilities are a result of its reduced rolling resistance technology, which gives the user enough grip and performance with less tire and tarmac friction.  Ecopia comes in three sizes, the Ecopia 150, 200, and 850 for SUVs.

 

“Ecopia is a testament to Bridgestone’s continued commitment to help improve the lives of our customers,” Tagle said.  “This tire is not only fuel-efficient, it gives you unparalleled safety and comfort made possible by Bridgestone’s superior technology.”

 

The company’s vice president for sales echoed these sentiments when he welcomed the Bridgestone Family Channels and Dealers. Benjamin Young launched the Ecopia  to their business partners through a Product Experience at Clark International Speedway.

 

With Family Channels and branches all over the Philippines, Bridgestone has become one of the market leaders in the tire industry.  PAEC also shared with their dealers not just the party but also a product experience at the track, featuring  product lines such as the Potenza, Bridgestone’s high-performance tire; the Dueler all-terrain tire; and of course, the newly-launched Ecopia tires.  Each product range was featured in different exercises, which highlighted their respective characteristics.

 

After the day at the track, dealers, motoring media and other industry players were treated to a musical extravaganza headlined by popular entertainers.