On January 9, Bridgestone Americas announced plans to invest an additional $180 million at its passenger tire plant in Wilson, North Carolina, bringing its total investment at the site to $344 million over the next 10 years. The investment includes a new rubber mixer as well as funding for innovative manufacturing processes and technology. The project will add 16 jobs at the plant.
Groundbreaking for the 50,000 square foot building to house the new mixer will begin in the spring, with startup scheduled for the fall of 2018. The Wilson plant currently spans 2.5 million square feet and was last expanded in 1999, adding 85,000 square feet to the facility.
The multi-phase expansion will allow the plant to meet global demand for higher rim diameter tires, as well as improve quality and productivity while reducing costs. Combined, the project is adding manufacturing space to accommodate new tire assembly machines, materials handling systems, curing presses and associated equipment to increase plant capacity by 3,000 tires per day, bringing daily production to 35,000 tires by 2018.
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