Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (Bridgestone) has announced its Bandag retread manufacturing plant in Oxford, North Carolina celebrated 50 years of production on Sept. 26.
Bandag is Bridgestone’s business unit dedicated to the research, development and manufacturing of premium retread tires. The Bandag plant in Oxford began manufacturing tread rubber and retreading materials in 1969 and employs nearly 200 people. Bridgestone hosted a lunch banquet and tour of the facility on Sept. 26 to mark the important milestone.
The 225,000-square-foot facility and 135,000-square-foot warehouse in Oxford are home to the company’s production equipment, used to engineer precured rubber tread, cushion and chemical materials that are used in the retreading process.
During its 50 years in operation, the Oxford plant has received several certifications for quality management and environmental responsibility including ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications, Bridgestone says. The plant has also obtained the Carolina Star Certification, which recognizes employers who have implemented safety and health management systems to reduce employee injury rates and is patterned after the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration Voluntary Protection Program. Year over year, Bandag employees in Oxford demonstrate Our Way to Serve, our global corporate social responsibility commitment. Employees give back to their community through partnerships and community volunteer projects with the United Way and the Granville Public Schools Reading Buddies program. In addition, the Oxford plant is a Vance Granville Community College scholarship sponsor.
