Bridgestone's Aiken County, S.C., plant will
begin producing an additional 4,750 car and
light truck tires per day beginning in the
spring of 2013. The $135 million investment will
create 122 full-time and contractor positions
and expand the facility by 266,000 square feet
in the main plant and mixing areas.
“With demand steadily increasing over the last
couple of years, now is the right time to
increase capacity to meet the needs of our
customers,” says Larry Magee, divisional
president for the U.S. and Canada.
“Aiken County is the right place to expand our
manufacturing footprint, and we thank Gov.
Haley, Secretary Hitt and the Aiken County
officials who worked nonstop to create a
business environment that makes this expansion
and the jobs it will create a reality,” he
adds.
Site preparation and construction will begin
later this year, and the manufacturing equipment
will be installed in the fall of 2012.
Construction is expected to be complete in early
2013 with production commencing early in the
spring.
The plant, which began operations in 1998,
earned LEED (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design) Silver Certification from
the U.S. Green Building Council in 2009. LEED is
awarded internationally to buildings for
excellent energy and water efficiency, indoor
environmental quality and resource stewardship.
It is rarely awarded to existing manufacturing
sites.
The facility has also been recognized as an OSHA
Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star site.
VPP status is awarded to companies that have
excellent safety and health management systems
and injury rates that are below the industry’s
national average. It is one of only three tire
factories in the country to receive OSHA’s
highest honor; the other two are Bridgestone’s
Warren County, Tenn., plant and the Bloomington,
Ill., location.
For more information, visit www.bridgestone-
firestone.com.
