COLUMBIA, S.C. — During an event yesterday attended by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Bridgestone Americas Inc. announced the construction of a new 1.5 million-square-foot off-road radial tire (ORR) manufacturing facility on a Greenfield site in Aiken County. The company also announced an additional 474,000-square-foot expansion of the existing passenger (PSR) and light truck (LTR) tire plant in Aiken County. When fully completed, the total $1.2 billion investment in these new projects will increase Bridgestone Americas’ workforce in Aiken County by more than 850 full-time and contractor positions.
The company previously announced a 266,000-square-foot expansion of this plant in July.
“The announcement of this Greenfield off-road radial tire plant is a major strategic investment by the global Bridgestone Group to enhance its supply systems, improve its sourcing flexibility and further strengthen the Bridgestone Group’s position as the global leader in the off-road radial tire segment,” said Gary Garfield, vice president and senior officer, Bridgestone Corp., and CEO and president, Bridgestone Americas.
Previously, large and ultra-large ORR tires had been produced exclusively at Bridgestone Corp.’s Shimonoseki and Kitakyushu plants located in Japan. Bridgestone said it will install ORR production technologies developed in Japan in the new plant to more effectively respond to customer needs and growing global demand and further improvements in its supply systems. The Bridgestone Group also will have more options for future expansions, improving its ability to rapidly respond to changes in the operating environment and customer requirements.
The plant will be built with a focus on the environment and plans to achieve LEED Construction Certification by incorporating state-of-the-art technology in its facility and equipment design.
The capacity expansion at the existing Aiken County PSR/LTR tire plant announced today, along with the earlier expansion announcement in July, is intended to meet growing demand in key market segments, including ultra-high performance and light truck/SUV tires. The addition of new, more advanced tire building machines will provide the plant with an additional level of versatility and will give the plant even greater flexibility and speed in responding to shifts in market demand. Over the long term, this versatility and flexibility will help the company address customer needs by improving the fill rates of high-demand tires.
The South Carolina Department of Commerce provided $15.5 million in grants to the company for infrastructure and site preparation, including about $6 million that was provided to improve public roads adjacent to the facility. The Coordinating Council also approved the project for job development credits.
