Bridgestone Announces Major Midlands Expansion

With state unemployment at a record-high of 11.1 percent, South Carolina received a major boost on the job front Wednesday as Bridgestone Americas Inc. announced the construction of a new 1.5 million-square-foot off-road radial tire (ORR) manufacturing facility in Aiken County.

In addition, Bridgestone also announced an additional 474,000-square-foot expansion of its existing passenger and light truck tire plant. That's on top of a previously announced 266,000-square-foot expansion of the plant in July.

Together, the Nashville-based subsidiary of Tokyo-based Bridgestone Corp., foresees a total investment of $1.2 billion in the county, and more than 850 new jobs at build out.

"Today’s announcement represents the largest initial capital investment by a company in our state’s history, and we celebrate the more than 850 new jobs," said Gov. Nikki Haley. "This is a continuation of the good work we are doing to partner with companies. South Carolina has a great reason to smile today."

The new ORR manufacturing facility will be located at a greenfield site in the Sage Mill Industrial Park in Aiken County. Previously, large and ultra-large ORR tires had been produced exclusively at Bridgestone Corp.'s Shimonoseki and Kitakyushu plants located in Japan.

Manufacturing equipment for the first phase of the plant will be installed starting in the fourth quarter of 2012, company officials said. The first production tire is scheduled to be produced by the end of the first quarter of 2014 with a target date of full phase-one production by the end of 2015.

The first phase of the project will initially create more than 330 full-time and contractor jobs. The new project is expected to result in approximately 550 new full-time and contractor jobs when fully completed in 2020. 

Meanwhile, expansion of the existing plant will increase by 740,00 square feet to a total of 2.74 million square feet, officials said. Construction of the new phases will begin in November, with an expected completion date sometime in the first quarter of 2013. Bridgestone officials said the expansion will create more than 300 new full-time and contractor jobs in the county.

"Bridgestone Americas is a world-class manufacturer and this investment will be a real game-changer," Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt said. "The company’s new plant will further strengthen South Carolina’s manufacturing sector, and shows that our business-friendly environment and top-notch talent continue to keep us competitive with locations across the globe."