Bridgestone's $550 million TBR investment bolsters N.A. capacity, bigger vision

WARREN COUNTY, Tenn.—Don't be fooled by the square footage. Because Bridgestone Americas Inc.'s vision is bigger than that.

Yes, the tire maker is taking its 1.9 million-sq.-ft. Warren County manufacturing plant and transforming it into a more than 2.8 million-sq.-ft. facility. Bridgestone broke ground Aug. 16 on the $550 million project intended to bolster truck and bus tire production in North America.

Once substantially completed and online—likely sometime in 2026—Bridgestone expects the expansion to add 380 new jobs, bringing the total plant employment to 1,400.

But the project is about more than just making more tires.

It's about making better-performing, more sustainable tires. It's about making smarter tires, using smarter technologies to better serve customers and help preserve the planet along the way.

"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 team's dedication to innovation, efficiency and quality for our customers," Paolo Ferrari, joint global chief operating officer for Bridgestone Corp. and president and CEO of Bridgestone Americas said in a statement.

"… Our company and the Warren County Plant team have a vital role to play in the transformation of mobility," he added. "This investment will expand the capabilities of this plant and pave the way for Bridgestone to bolster its sustainable solution offerings for fleets."

So, yes, the investment is about more than capacity.

Because remember: Bridgestone's vision is bigger.

The $550 million investment will allow the Warren County plant to employ AI control technology that will increase production through the capture and application of data. Already considered to be among Bridgestone's most productive plants globally, the technology implement moves it even further toward greater efficiency and ultimately greater sustainability.

This also will help Bridgestone stride closer to its 2050 aims, which includes carbon-neutral production.

Through the expansion, the Warren County plant will be among the tire maker's first globally to produce Enliten innovations. Enliten is a suite of Bridgestone technologies intended to enhance key traits such as rolling resistance and wear, allowing for tires that offer customers more sustainable and economic performances. Specifically, Enliten technologies also will enhance the TBR casings and retreadability.

"With sustainability as a foundational element of everything we do at Bridgestone, that foundation is an intrinsic part of our tire engineering," Steve Hoeft, president of Bridgestone Americas' Commercial Truck Group, told Rubber News. "Our tech stack is always evolving as we listen to the needs of customers—improving rolling resistance, etc.—with elements that impact efficiency and help fleets become more sustainable."

Tires manufactured at the Warren County plant will be suited for a more connected TBR industry, one that Bridgestone envisions will empower fleet owners to better manage and maintain their vehicles.

"Fleets continue to emphasize the importance of connected and integrated technologies, which enable actionable insights for fleet owners who seek improved efficiency across the board," Hoeft said. "The ability to harness this data in the palm of your hand can be vitally important to fleets."

So Bridgestone is developing and implementing the kinds of technologies that allow fleets to better wrangle the data and insights they need. And the company intends to build those technologies right into the tires themselves, giving customers leverage to keep trucks on roads longer while more effectively managing maintenance.

"There is a reason why we call ourselves a global leader in sustainable mobility solutions, as opposed to only a tire company—even though we are one of the biggest (tire makers) in the world," Hoeft said. "We take a holistic approach to serve society with superior quality and fulfill our social responsibilities. … For Bridgestone, our customers are best served when premium tires are combined with the best Mobility Solutions available in the market."

Bridgestone's data wrangling starts with RFID. The tire maker said in November that it intends to invest heavily in RFID technology throughout the coming few years. Ultimately, it expects all of its TBR tires to be fitted with the tags.

And those made at Warren County will be.

But RFID is the start.

The plant will 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.

"Bridgestone is evolving into a sustainable solutions company. We're committed to maximizing productivity with the advancement of mobility and to nonstop innovation that keeps people and the world moving ahead," Hoeft said.

"Our holistic approach to commercial tire offerings and services strengthens our commitments to customers while allowing us to work towards a sustainable future. We have the tools to build a framework of service that elevates the driving experience for a range of customers through safety, fuel-efficiency and durability beyond conventional tire designs."

But to that, you have to build the technology into the tire, too. And that's exactly what the Warren County plant will do. With a little bit of help, of course, from another key Bridgestone investment.

In May, Bridgestone broke ground on a $60 million expansion project that will add roughly 50,000 square feet to its existing Bridgestone Bandag tread rubber facility in Abilene, Texas. The investment—which calls for expansion of its mixing operations and capabilities—will be coupled with an immediate move to increase production operations to six- and seven-day schedules.

That project is the perfect complement to the Warren County one, because it gives Bridgestone further leverage for more sustainable truck/bus tires with quality, better-performing retreads.

"Our goal here is to take the legacy way we have made tread rubber and adapt it in extrusion and curing for the new material technology we are creating with the Enliten tech stack," Hoeft said. "This transition will allow our company to better position our products to the sustainability driven initiatives we are implementing while still providing our customers with superior products."

Bridgestone's premium tires, when properly cared for, could be retreaded three or more times, saving costs for owners, reducing materials usage for the tire maker and minimizing the number of end-of-life tires.

"Retreading is at the core of our mobility solutions and the market for retreading is expanding," Hoeft said. "Bridgestone is committed to retread manufacturing, and we show our commitment with every new tire we create by designing them with retreadability in mind.

"We understand that fleets are looking for ways to increase their sustainability efforts while also (saving) money, and retreaded tires accomplish both goals and provide fleets with high-performance equipment.""

Perhaps the Warren County Plant's greatest strength is its potential to more deeply root Bridgestone for North American growth. It does so, Hoeft said, by bolstering domestic supply. And by doing that, the tire maker better positions it for global competitiveness.

According to Tire Business data, the Bridgestone and Michelin brands each hold the largest shares of the medium/heavy replacement truck tire market in the U.S. and Canada at 13.5 percent each. When subsidiary brands are considered, Bridgestone and Firestone combine for about 20.5 percent of the share. Michelin and BFGoodrich have 15 percent of the market—the second largest.

Goodyear and Continental/General Tire hold 9.5 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively, while Yokohama rounds out the top five with a 7-percent share.

Ultimately, that's a pretty good place for Bridgestone to start.

Especially as the TBR replacement market prepares to rebound after dipping a bit in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Volatility has been a general theme of the North American TBR market over the past few years," Hoeft said. "Overall industry tire supply was slow to rebound post-COVID and well into the second half of 2022, while industry demand was historically high and led to imbalances in timing, which impacted all tire manufacturers and fleet customers."

The trucking industry's latest trend story starts, of course, with the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on higher demands for consumer goods over consumer services.

By the end of 2020, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported, truck-mile tonnage eclipsing the 2.42 trillion mark—the highest since 1980.

Since then, things have cooled.

According to the American Trucking Associations, 11.46 billion total tons of freight (primary shipments only) were transported by truck in 2022. That marks an increase from the 10.93 billion tons moved by truck in 2021.

Further, the organization's tonnage index indicates that the industry continues its trend of finding its way back to the normalized levels of 2018 and 2019.

"While the tonnage index increased in both May and June (2023), it remains in recession territory," ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a June news release. "… A multitude of factors have caused a recession in freight, including stagnant consumer spending on goods, lower home construction, falling factory output and shippers consolidating freight into fewer shipments compared with the frenzy during the goods buying spree at the height of the pandemic. However, the magnitude of the year-over-year declines is improving, perhaps pointing to a bottom in the freight market."

Sure, 2023 has been a bit on the quieter side for the TBR sector overall, but Bridgestone is confident that recovery is right around the corner in North America, given the trends its seeing on the trucking side.

And when that recovery happens, Bridgestone fully intends to be ready to capture the opportunities. That's why the company is investing now, in its manufacturing capacity and capabilities as well as product offerings and services.

It's why the timing of the $550 million Warren County plant and $60 million Abilene tread rubber investments matter.

"This reflects both our confidence in the North American market, as well as our own growth momentum," Hoeft said. "We have continued to make investments in manufacturing capacity, Mobility Solutions technology, in the Bridgestone Commercial Dealer Network, and with key OEM partners in both the Tractor and Trailer businesses."