Warren County’s largest industrial employer is about to get much bigger.
Bridgestone and the state of Tennessee announced Thursday that Bridgestone will be making a $550 million major expansion that will create 380 new jobs at the Warren County plant.
“This plant could have gone anywhere in the world and they picked Warren County,” said McMinnville-Warren County Industrial Development Board executive director Don Alexander. “This is a history-making development for Warren County.”
Bridgestone’s local plant currently employs about 1,100. It’s been operational since the early 1990s.
It will be an 850,000-square-foot expansion that’s slated to begin before the end of the year. According to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, the project is expected to be “substantially complete” by May 2024.
Once finished, Bridgestone will grow from 1.97 million square feet to 2.8 million square feet.
“Bridgestone’s expansion in Morrison is a great example of Tennessee’s economic vitality and our ability to attract new investment across a broad range of industries,” said Gov. Bill Lee.
Bridgestone’s investment strengthens the global competitiveness of the company’s U.S. manufacturing operations and commitment to its U.S. labor force. Bridgestone and Local Steelworkers Union 1155 ratified a new four-year contract agreement earlier this month.
The expansion will support increased capacity and accelerate the use of advanced technologies that support cleaner, safer and more efficient commercial truck and bus fleets.
The $550 million investment will allow for all tires made in Morrison to be equipped with RFID (radio frequency identification) tags, which will enable more efficient asset management and optimization of fleets’ investment in tires, including retreading. The plant will also incorporate technology for digital readiness in tires, including the integration of tire-mounted sensors that support advanced, data-driven insights for more efficient fleet management.
The Warren County plant is one of Bridgestone’s most productive operations globally. The plant has a long history of outstanding performance and best practices in manufacturing, with its 70 millionth tire produced in October 2021.
Alexander said he’s been working with Bridgestone and the Department of Economic Development on this project for more than four years. He said COVID hampered those talks for a couple years.
“There will be people who move in for these jobs,” said Alexander. “They will be high-paying jobs that give people disposable income to go to shows at Park Theater and Cumberland Caverns and support our local economy.”
Alexander praised Bridgestone’s commitment to quality and environmental practices and said our local plant has been recognized for that commitment globally.
Said Bridgestone Americas president and CEO Paolo Ferrari, “With new investment and new jobs, we are moving our Warren County plant forward, driven by growing demand for our products, our commitment to investing in U.S. manufacturing and our Warren County team’s dedication to innovation, efficient and quality for our customers. We appreciate the state of Tennessee and Warren County’s committed partnership, which we celebrate today as an essential element of this plant’s continued success. Our Warren County plant team plays a vital role in supporting our company’s commitment to providing safe and sustainable mobility solutions.”
