Cement Americas

WIN 2015

Cement Americas provides comprehensive coverage of the North and South American cement markets from raw material extraction to delivery and tranportation to end user.

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www.cementamericas.com • Winter 2015 • CEMENT AMERICAS FEATURE BRIDGESTONE TIRE PLANT 21 By Steve Fiscor Off-Road Tires Made in the U.S.A. BRIDGESTONE OPENS FIRST U.S. MINING TIRE MANUFACTURING FACILITY. E xtending its leadership in the heavy-duty, earthmoving tire seg- ment, Bridgestone Americas opened its first giant off-road radial tire plant during November. Based in Aiken County, S.C., the 1.5 million-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility produces vari- ous off-road radial tires for mining equipment, including ultra-class haul trucks. The new plant strengthens Bridgestone's ability to meet global demand for mining tires now and in the future. About 400 people, including several mining executives, gathered to com- memorate the grand opening. The Aiken County Plant Manager Ron Brooks emceed the ceremony, which included speeches from Kazuhisa Nishigai, COO, Bridgestone Corp., and Gary Garfield, president and CEO of Bridgestone Americas, along with other Bridgestone executives and re- gional dignitaries. "Bridgestone has made significant in- vestments in technology and training to ensure we are producing the world's leading off-road radial tires for the mining business in North America," said Nishigai. "We remain highly committed to our mining cus- tomers around the globe and will continue to make the right invest- ments for this important segment of our business." This is a first; previously all of Bridge- stone's large mining class tires were manufactured in Japan. In 2011, the company announced a planned $970 million investment to build the com- pany's first U.S.-based off-road radial tire plant, as well as expand produc- tion capacity at Bridgestone's steel cord manufacturing facilities in Clarksville, Tenn., and Saga, Japan. The opening of the Aiken County Off- Road Radial Tire Plant completes the largest portion of this planned investment. "Engineering large and ultra-large mining tires is a highly technical process, and Bridgestone has a long tradition of being a leader in bringing these tires to market. The opening of a new off-road radial tire plant in South Carolina is a strategic business decision that will give us the capacity to build these tires domestically and improve our supply systems globally," Garfield said. "Long-term, the mining segment will grow, and we are now better-positioned to respond more quickly, efficiently and reliably to the needs of our customers." "The new Aiken plant will contribute significantly to our global business and to maintain our status as the leading tire supplier for the mining business," Nishigai said. "Producing tires is a highly technical business and none is more difficult to produce than mining-class off-road radial tires. We have made a significant in- vestment in technology to ensure that we are producing the world's leading off-road mining tires here at the Aiken County facility. We expect the Aiken plant to make a very important contribution to customer satisfaction." Nishigai also explained that being the leader in this industry, also means being a leader as far as safety, sus- tainability, and protecting and pre- serving the environment. "This new facility features our biggest commit- ment to the tire manufacturing process in a sustainable, environ- About 400 people gathered to celebrate the grand opening of Bridgestone's newest mining tire plant.

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