LAVERGNE, Tenn. (May 7, 2010)—Bridgestone Americas' plant in LaVergne, Tenn., felt the impact of record-breaking flash floods that swept across the Southeastern U.S. last week, hitting parts of Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi.
Plant Manager Bruce Johnson said the facility was without power from the afternoon of May 1 until May 3, and also experienced flooding from an overflowing creek near the grounds. During that time, the Bridgestone Emergency Response Team set up generators at the plant so employees could continue shipping tires.
Power has since been restored at the plant, and production was at about 35-40 percent by May 5, will full operations expected to resume May 7.
Johnson said the company has not been able to confirm that any LaVergne employees were personally affected by the flooding; however, four employees at Bridgestone's Nashville headquarters were affected.