NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Bridgestone Americas Inc. recognized 154 employees at its 39th Annual Bridgestone Americas Inventors Awards Dinner, held May 3 at the Firestone Country Club in Akron.
That group represents 127 patents and 35 trade secrets designated in 2017. Kimball Curtis Firestone, grandson of Harvey Firestone and owner of Firestone's Culinary Tavern in Fredrick, Md., and Bob Troyer, a longtime publicist, friend and consultant to the Firestone family, were the keynote speakers for the evening. More than 200 guests attended the event which was developed around the a theme of "Spirit of Innovation."
"Innovation forms the foundation of our company, dating back to the founders Harvey Firestone and Shojiro Ishibashi, both of whom were incredible innovators and entrepreneurs," said Nizar Trigui, chief technology officer, Bridgestone Americas.
Bridgestone's Akron campus is the company's home for research and development of new products for advanced materials technology for tire and non tire applications. It consists of the Americas Technical Center, Data Center and Firestone Polymers. About 900 employees work at the Akron campus.