Bridgestone Americas recognized leaders in innovation during its 38th Annual Bridgestone Americas Inventors Awards Dinner on May 18 in Akron, Ohio.
This year, 156 Bridgestone inventors, representing 102 patents and 16 trade secrets designated in 2016, were honored.
“Research and innovation are at the core of everything we do, and that is why this is such a special event,” said Nizar Trigui, chief technology officer for Bridgestone Americas. “We celebrate our team members who innovate every day with our customer, the Boss, in mind.”
The theme of this year’s dinner was “Delivering on Innovation,” reflecting Bridgestone’s commitment to continuing to drive innovation that delivers products and solutions that meet and exceed customer needs. The awards were given for inventions related to tires, building products and industrial products. Matthew Wilson, president of the University of Akron, was the keynote speaker. Bridgestone employees and members of the Bridgestone Americas executive leadership team were all on hand to celebrate Bridgestone inventors for their 2016 accomplishments.
The Akron campus, which is the Bridgestone Americas home for research and development to provide advanced materials technology for tire and non-tire applications, consists of four main sites: Americas Technical Center, Data Center, Bridgestone Americas Center for Research and Technology and Firestone Polymers. Race tire production (the Advanced Technology Workshop that manufactures IndyCar race tires) continues in Akron at the site of the former Firestone Tire and Rubber Company headquarters. Currently, approximately 900 teammates work on the Akron campus.
