The teammates of the Aiken County passenger and light truck tire facility of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC (BATO) today rolled their 100 millionth tire off the line.
A celebration commemorating this landmark event was attended by Chairman of the Aiken County Council Ronnie Young, State Rep. Roland Smith, BATO's Vice President of Manufacturing Barry Owens, Plant Manager John Stewart, community guests and company teammates.
"Our teammates here in Aiken are dedicated to making the best products possible every day," said Stewart. "It's a reflection of our company's global philosophy, which we call the Bridgestone Way. We have upheld the same commitment to excellence now for 100 million tires, and we plan to do the same for 100 million more."
The 100 millionth tire was a Bridgestone Dueler A/T RH-S, one of the company's premium light truck, SUV and CUV tires. The tire was signed by guests attending the early afternoon event and will be proudly displayed in the plant's welcome lobby.
"Our company takes great pride in the work of our Aiken County teammates," said Owens."Consumers throughout North America have benefited from the quality products these teammates produce and we look forward to serving those consumers well for many years to come with products made right here in Aiken County."
The Aiken County facility, maker of both radial passenger and light truck tires, began operations in 1999 and currently employs 950 teammates. In 2011, the company announced two phases of expansion for the plant. In total, the expansions represent an increase to a total capacity of 37,750 tires per day or 13.4 million tires annually. The first production tire is projected to be produced in the expansion areas during the second quarter of 2013. The expansion projects are expected to create more than 300 new full-time and contractor jobs in Aiken County when fully completed (planned for 2015).
The facility has earned the South Carolina Governor's Quality Award, the South Carolina Large Manufacturer of the Year Award and was honored as one of Industry Week's Top Ten Plants in North America. The facility is a SCOSHA Star VPP Site, and received Silver LEED certification status by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2009, becoming one of only two tire manufacturing facilities in the world to have earned the status (the second is BATO's truck and bus tire plant in Warren County, Tenn.).
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