Today, Bridgestone Americas consists of an international family of enterprises with 53 production facilities and 53,000 teammates.
The Firestone brand has won more Indianapolis 500® races than all of the other tire brands combined.
Firestone and Bridgestone brand tires come as original equipment on more than 200 different car and light truck models sold in the United States and Canada.
Bridgestone Americas implemented ISO 14001, the International standard for Environmental Management Systems, at 24 major facilities across the Americas before 2000. As a result, Bridgestone Corporation, including Bridgestone Americas and Bridgestone Europe, leads the tire and rubber industry (and many other industries) globally regarding ISO 14001 certification. Today, 47 Bridgestone Americas facilities are ISO 14001 certified. The goal is to certify new facilities within two years of construction or acquisition.
Bridgestone Americas has a comprehensive safety education project that includes: Think Before You Drive, an exciting new initiative by Bridgestone Americas to bring all of our driver safety educations programs together in one central place; sponsorship of Driver’s Edge, the nationally recognized teen driver education program; an innovative tire safety Web site, www.tiresafety.com in English, Spanish and French; driver and tire safety education outreach efforts that encourage students to learn their “M.A.R.I.O.S.” (Mario Andretti’s Real Information on Safety); and Safety Scholars, a video contest where students submit creative and compelling videos on various driver safety issues for a chance to win a scholarship.
Bridgestone Americas maintains an established and strong presence in Latin America through the subsidiaries that make up the Latin American Tire division (BSLA), which is part of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations. BSLA, through seven manufacturing and sales subsidiaries, operates six tire production plants — two in Brazil, and one each in Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico and Venezuela — along with proving grounds in Acuña, Mexico, and São Pedro, Brazil.
Firestone Building Products Company, LLC (FSBP) manufactures single-ply and asphalt-based roofing membranes, polyiso insulation and a full line of roofing accessories. In addition, it launched the new ReflexEON (a TPO roofing membrane) in 2005.
In 2006, Firestone Natural Rubber Company, LLC formalized a program offering space on its ships for relief goods and other donated cargo from qualified charitable organizations to help rebuild Liberia. The company, which employs approximately 7,000 people in Liberia, operates an 118,000-acre (nearly 200 square miles) rubber growing and processing facility.
Firestone Industrial Products Company, LLC (FSIP) has grown from a single plant in 1934, to the world’s largest manufacturer of air springs. In 2008, the FSIP facility in Dyersburg was awarded Tennessee Volunteer Star Site status from the Tennessee Occupational Safety & Health Administration.
Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC (BSRO) operates the largest number of company-owned automotive retail generalist stores in the world — more than 2,000 consumer and commercial vehicle service and tire locations in United States. BSRO teammates participate in a number of community partnerships, supporting the activities of various organizations.
For more than 30 years, Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC’s (BSRO) Firestone Complete Auto Care™ locations around the United States have conducted free, hands-on Car Care Academies for consumers, businesses, professional organizations and community groups. These interactive workshops educate drivers about the basics of vehicle maintenance, safety and saving money at the gas pump.
As part of Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC’s (BSRO) wide-ranging environmental initiatives, Firestone Complete Auto Care was the first in the automotive service industry to commit to using steel wheel weights instead of traditional lead wheel weights. Store locations in greater Portland, Ore., and Boston, Mass., offer environmentally friendly oil change services using a recycled oil product. Throughout the country, BSRO store locations recycle tires, car batteries, oil and oil filters, antifreeze, Freon and many other automotive products.
In 2008, Bridgestone Americas hosted 15 regional “Drive & Learn” events and one national product introduction, which was held at Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix, Ariz. Dealers, retail teammates and media from across the United States had the opportunity to take advantage of this educational hands-on driving and tire testing experience.
In 2007 the Aiken County, S.C., tire plant was designated as a wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), and in November 2008 the plant received the Special Commendation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Environmental Performance Track and WHC for the plant’s efforts in environmental protection and wildlife habitat restoration. In January 2006, the Aiken County, S.C., plant celebrated the manufacture of its 50 millionth tire. In 2005, the plant celebrated 2 million hours worked without a “lost time” injury and was recognized as an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star facility for its outstanding safety and health management. The facility has earned the South Carolina Governor’s Quality Award, the South Carolina Large Manufacturer of the Year Award, the South Carolina Silver Crescent Award for Manufacturing Excellence, the Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce Greater Good Award and was honored as one of Industry Week’s Top Ten Plants in North America.
The Warren County, Tenn., tire facility was recognized in 1997 by the Tennessee Department of Labor for achieving Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star status; becoming the first tire plant in the U.S. to receive OSHA’s highest honor. Since that time, our tire plants in Aiken County, S.C. (2002) and Bloomington, Ill. (2007) have become OSHA VPP Star certified. Bridgestone Americas has the only tire plants that have ever achieved VPP Star status in OSHA’s 38-year history. In addition, four other plants that are part of the Bridgestone Americas’ family of companies have been awarded VPP Star status: Kingstree, S.C., in 2005 (Firestone Building Products Company, LLC); Lake Charles, La., in 2006 (Firestone Polymers Company, LLC); Aurora, Colo., in 2007 (Firestone Building Products Company, LLC); and Dyersburg, Tenn., in 2008 (Firestone Industrial Products Company, LLC).
The Bridgestone Americas Trust Fund donated more than $2.7 million in 2008 to deserving charities and non-profits across the United States. The Trust Fund contributes millions annually to 501(c)(3) organizations in support of causes that champion children’s issues, education, the environment and conservation.
Through 2008, Bridgestone Americas distributed more than 3 million tire gauges to consumers and dealers to remind drivers about the importance of tire pressure.
Bridgestone Americas produced and distributed more than 10 million “Inflate, Rotate, Evaluate” tire safety brochures since 2003 via its 10,000 retail points of sale throughout the United States, as well as through civic groups, schools, educational organizations and at events. The Spanish language version, “Infle, Rote, Inspeccione” is also being distributed. Since 2005, the brochures have also been distributed through the Federal Citizen Information Center. Since this time, the distribution center has dispersed more than 48,000 English language brochures and more than 76,500 Spanish language ones.
Bridgestone Americas became a sponsor in 2003 of “Driver’s Edge,” an innovative hands-on MTV style drivers’ educational program. To date, more than 50,000 students from across the United States have taken advantage of this hands-on driving experience. The 4 1/2-hour program, which involves classroom and course instruction, offers young drivers behind-the-wheel driver education and is dedicated to lowering the number of traffic accidents involving teenagers. More information on Driver’s Edge is available at www.driversedge.org.
In September 1998, Bridgestone Americas donated 4,000 acres of virtually untouched wild land near Sparta, Tenn., to the state. In April 2000, then-company chairman and CEO Masatoshi Ono bequeathed a further 6,000 acres to the people of Tennessee, in honor of the Centennial of The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, thereby creating the Bridgestone/Firestone Centennial Wilderness, one of the last large untouched wilderness areas east of the Mississippi.
Since 1990, Bridgestone Americas has received supplier quality awards from Honda of America; General Motors; Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.; Auto Alliance International, Inc.; New United Motor Manufacturing Inc.; Freightliner Corp.; Ford Motor Co.; Caterpillar Inc.; Cleveland Cliffs, Inc.; Saturn Corp.; Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A, Inc.; PACCAR Inc.; John Deere; Peter Kiewit Sons, Inc.; and Sears Canada Inc.
