A groundbreaking ceremony was held in Wilson on Wednesday for an expansion at the Bridgestone tire manufacturing plant.
The five-year, $164 million investment will allow the 42 year-old plant to expand to meet growing demands and increase capacity. The facility has been recognized as one of the company’s most environmentally sustainable plants. The expansion will improve the plant’s global competitive position by installing leading edge technology, expanding production capacity and lowering costs.
The investment will allow the plant to increase production from 32,000 to 35,000 tires per day by 2018.
NC Governor Pat McCrory was on hand for the event at the plant located at 3001 Firestone Parkway.
Nashville, Tennessee-based Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) is a business unit of Bridgestone Americas, Inc., whose parent company, Bridgestone Corporation, is the world’s largest tire and rubber company. BATO develops, manufactures and markets Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand tires. The business unit is focused on retail, wholesale and original equipment markets, supplying passenger, light truck, commercial vehicle, off road, motorcycle, agricultural and other tires, as well as retreads, to its customers. Photos by John Payne
