Bridgestone opens first US giant off-road radial tire manufacturing facility

Extending its leadership in the heavy-duty, earth moving tire segment, Bridgestone Americas  announced the opening of its first giant off-road radial tire plant. Based in Aiken County, South Carolina, the 1.5-million sq ft manufacturing facility produces various
off-road radial tire products used to equip heavy haul trucks in mining and aggregates applications. A leader in off-road radial tire technology, the new off-road radial tire plant strengthens Bridgestone's ability to meet the needs of its global customer base in this key segment.

Kazuhisa Nishigai, COO and Board Member of Bridgestone Corporation, and Gary Garfield, President and CEO of Bridgestone Americas, were joined at a grand opening ceremony by South Carolina State Senator Nikki Setzler; South Carolina State Representative Bill Clyburn; South Carolina State Representative Bill Hixon; South Carolina State Representative Bill Taylor; Aiken County Council Chairman Ronnie Young; and Aiken, Edgefield and Saluda Counties Economic Development Partnership President & CEO Will Williams.

"Bridgestone has made significant investments in technology and training to ensure we are producing the world's leading off-road radial tires in North America," said Nishigai. "We remain highly committed to our mining customers around the globe and will continue to make the right investments for this important segment of our business."

Bridgestone's off-road radial tire plant is the second tire manufacturing plant Bridgestone has built in Aiken County, South Carolina. The company has operated a passenger tire facility in Graniteville since 1998. Approximately 350 people now work at the new Aiken County off-road radial tire plant, and Bridgestone expects to create an additional 200 positions when the location reaches full production in the next two to three years. At present, there are approximately 2,000 people working at Bridgestone's two tire plants in Aiken County.

Posted in: Assembly/Manufacturing Plant,Bridgestone,Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations,North America