Bridgestone Americas promised a "major economic development" during its Sept. 21 press conference at its tire plant in Graniteville, S.C.
The tiremaker didn’t disappoint, unveiling plans to spend some $1.2 billion to construct an all-new radial giant OTR tire plant near its existing passenger and light truck/SUV tire plant in the Aiken County community, as well as a second massive expansion of that very same consumer tire facility.
With South Carolina governor Nikki Haley and various state and local officials in hand, the tiremaker announced the projects, which will result in 850 new jobs in the county.
The project includes a 1.5-million-square-foot radial OTR tire plant that will be built on 545 acres in Aiken County’s Sage Mill Industrial Park, an estimated $900 million investment that will create more than 550 jobs. That amount is a record for a North American tire plant.
Ground will be broken for the project in October, and the first equipment will be installed in late 2012. The first of giant OTR radials – ranging from 51 to 63 inches in wheel diameter – will be produced in March 2014, Bridgestone said, though the plant won’t be fully completed until 2020.
The new plant will take production pressure off of Bridgestone Corp.’s giant radial OTR plants in Shimonoseki and Kitakyushu, Japan. The company offered no word how this new OTR plant will impact Bridgestone America’s existing OTR plant in Bloomington, Ill.
An estimated $200 million will be poured into further expansion of Bridgestone America’s existing passenger and light truck/SUV tire plant in Aiken County. This expansion will add another 474,000 square feet to the plant, which is currently undergoing a 266,000-square-foot expansion. That project, which was announced in July, will not be impacted by this latest announcement.
The July announcement was a $135 million project that would increase daily capacity by 4,750 tires. The new expansion plan will increase the plant’s tire production by an additional 8,000 tires per day. 
Once completed, the two expansion projects will increase the total footprint of the Aiken County plant to 2.74 million square feet under roof capable of producing 13.5 million tires per year.
Construction of both phases of the plant expansion is planned to begin in November 2011 with an expected completion date in the first quarter of 2013. The latest expansion will add 300 new full-time jobs.
The state of South Carolina will be kicking in some $15.5 million in incentives, as well as job development credits for both the new and expanded plants.
“The announcement of this greenfield off-road radial tire plant is a major strategic investment by the global Bridgestone Group to enhance its supply systems, improve its sourcing flexibility and further strengthen the Bridgestone Group’s position as the global leader in the off-road radial tire segment,” said Gary Garfield, president and CEO of Bridgestone Americas.
“Today’s announcement represents the largest initial capital investment by a company in our state’s history, and we celebrate the more than 850 new jobs,” said Gov. Haley. “This is a continuation of the good work we are doing to partner with companies. South Carolina has a great reason to smile today.”
