Ground has been broken for Bridgestone's new off-
road radial tire (ORR) plant in Aiken County,
S.C.
The 1.5 million-square-foot factory is being built
on a greenfield site at the Sage Mill Industrial
Park. It will manufacture large and ultra-large ORR
tires. At the same time, the company is conducting
an additional 474,000-square-foot expansion of its
existing passenger car and light truck tire plant
in Aiken County.
When fully completed, the company’s endeavors will
total a $1.2 billion investment and increase
Bridgestone’s workforce in the county by more than
850 direct and contractor positions.
During a ceremony on Sept. 21, Gov. Nikki Haley
declared that this was the largest one-time
economic investment ever made by a company in the
State of South Carolina.
“We’re all looking forward to the day in 2020 when
we’re at full capacity at Bridgestone Group’s only
large and ultra-large off-road radial facility in
the world outside Japan, but there’s a lot of work
to be done before we can roll off that first tire
in 2014,” says Steve Brooks, the tire maker’s chief
project officer.
“We look forward to working with the people,
companies and service providers in the region to
get our operation up-and-running, and are excited
to be able to provide a much needed economic boost
to the area in doing so,” he adds.
More than 700 construction workers will be put to
work during Phase 1 construction alone for the
collective Bridgestone projects.
For more information, visit www.bridgestone-
firestone.com.
