Bridgestone/Firestone Makes Commitment to Roanoke
Breaks Ground for New Distribution Center; Donates Tires for Emergency Vehicles

Nashville, Tn. (Feb. 14, 2002)-Bridgestone/Firestone is moving into the city of Roanoke, Texas, and with its arrival is bringing new opportunities to the community. Dallas-based developer Hillwood broke ground today at its AllianceTexas development on a 608,322 square-foot, build-to-suit facility that will be leased by the tire manufacturer and used as a new distribution center. As part of the groundbreaking celebration, Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC (BFNT) is also providing a year's supply of tires to the Roanoke Fire Department for its emergency rescue units.

"We are very excited about becoming a member of the Roanoke community," said Nelson Miller, director of distribution, Bridgestone/Firestone Americas Holding, Inc. "We evaluated six locations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area to find the most suitable site for a new distribution center. Roanoke was selected for a number of reasons including the fact that it offers the best access to freeways around the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, it is near the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad inter-modal rail yard, and it has a solid labor market.

"Bridgestone/Firestone has a long history of giving back to the communities in which it does business. As a new neighbor, we wanted to do something special for the people of Roanoke," Miller added. "What better way to serve Roanoke than to outfit the fleet of fire trucks and ambulances with tires?"

The new distribution center, which is being built with the assistance of Hillwood, will allow Bridgestone/Firestone to consolidate operations in the area into a single building. It will supply tires and automotive parts to a nine state area including Wyoming and part of South Dakota.

The warehouse will have a capacity of 750,000 tires ranging from small passenger tires to commercial truck tires and even large tires dedicated exclusively to grading roads. The typical tire will stay in the warehouse less than three weeks. The warehouse staff will consist of approximately 50 warehouse material handlers, 50 truck drivers, 40 loaders and 40 office staff including sales support for the retail stores.

Hillwood (www.hillwood.com), a Perot Company, is one of the world's premier real estate investment and development companies. Hillwood's signature projects are the 70-acre Victory Development that includes the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas and the 15,000 acre AllianceTexas development.

Nashville-based Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC is a subsidiary of Bridgestone/Firestone Americas Holding, Inc., whose parent company, Bridgestone Corporation, is the world's largest tire and rubber company. BFNT develops, manufactures and markets Bridgestone, Firestone, Dayton and associate and private brand tires. The company is focused on wholesale and original equipment markets, supplying passenger, light truck, commercial vehicle, off-road, agriculture and other tires to its customers in the Americas.