Bridgestone/Firestone Announces Management Changes
Retirements, Reassignments in Quality Assurance and Manufacturing
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (December 19, 2002) - Bridgestone
Americas Holding, Inc. (BFAH) today announced several management
changes in its Quality Assurance organization and in the manufacturing
group of Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC (BFNT).
Due to the retirement of Robert J. Wyant, Vice President Quality
Assurance, Stephen W. Brooks, currently Plant Manager at the BFNT
Aiken County, S.C. tire manufacturing facility, has been promoted
to Vice President Quality Assurance with concurrent responsibility
for QA matters in both BFNT and BFAH. Wyant's retirement and Brooks
promotion are effective January 1, 2002. Following his retirement,
Wyant will continue to serve as a consultant to the company. While
Brooks' successor at the Aiken County plant has not yet been named,
BFNT has promoted Michael R. Rose to General Manager at the South
Carolina operation. Rose is presently serving as Group Leader at
the facility.
The company has also announced that Harry McMillan, Plant Manager
of BFNT's Wilson N.C. tire manufacturing facility, has elected to
retire effective March 1, 2002, acting as a consultant to the company
thereafter. Filling the open position at Wilson will be Kazz Nishigai,
currently Plant Manager at BFNT's Warren County, Tenn. truck and
bus tire manufacturing operation. Succeeding Nishigai as Plant Manager
at Warren County will be Dennis Ringgenberg, whose most recent assignment
was as Plant Manager at the company's Decatur, Ill. facility.
Wyant, 59, is retiring after 36 years of service with the company.
He began his career with the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company
in Akron, Ohio in 1965 as a junior engineer and has held a number
of engineering, product development and sales support positions,
including sales engineer, manager of scientific computing and mold
design, manager of development services, and director of product
technology. Wyant has served as Vice President Quality Assurance
since May 2000.
Speaking about Wyant, John Lampe, CEO and Chairman of BFNT and
BFAH said, "Those of us who have worked with Bob know him to
be an exceptional individual with great integrity and tremendous
loyalty to the company. He has always worked hard to further the
best interests of Bridgestone/Firestone. While we thank him for
his many years of valued service and wish him good luck and much
happiness in his retirement, we are also pleased that Bob will continue
to assist us in a consulting capacity following his official retirement."
Brooks, 48, joined Bridgestone/Firestone in its Warren County,
Tenn. plant in 1989, having previously gained experience in the
tire industry with other manufacturers. Since joining the company,
he has held positions of increasing responsibility in the Bridgestone/Firestone
manufacturing organization, including division manager production
control and information services and division manager operations
at the Warren County plant. Brooks was assigned as general manager
operations of the Aiken County plant shortly following the company's
1997 announcement that it intended to locate its state-of-the-art
passenger and light truck tire manufacturing operation in South
Carolina. He was promoted to Plant Manager of that facility in October
2000.
"We are extremely happy that Steve has agreed to accept this
assignment," said Lampe. "He has a wealth of manufacturing
experience as well as strong organizational and technical skills
that will serve the company well. We are confident that he will
be a dynamic leader who can further the expanded mission of our
Quality Assurance program."
McMillan, 59, who joined the company in 1965, has held a number
of international manufacturing positions. Following his first company
assignment in Akron, Ohio, as an industrial engineer, he has served
as an industrial engineering manager in Nairobi, Kenya and Sao Paolo,
Brazil; plant manager in Bonsaso, Ghana; Cuernavaca, Mexico, Christchurch,
New Zealand and Decatur, Ill.; and managing director in Manila,
Philippines. McMillan has held the position of plant manager at
the company's Wilson tire plant since October 2000.
Tim Kawakami, BFNT Executive Vice President, Manufacturing, praised
McMillan's contributions. "Harry's breadth and scope of experience,
gained on assignments in locations as diverse as Kenya, New Zealand,
the Philippines and North Carolina, has provided the company a unique
perspective on manufacturing in a global marketplace. He has built
first-class, world-class operations wherever he has been assigned
and our company has truly benefited from his efforts."
McMillan's successor at the Wilson plant, Nishigai, 51, also brings
experience in international manufacturing to his North Carolina
assignment. He joined Bridgestone Corporation in Japan in 1975,
holding positions of increasing responsibility in the company's
Tokyo technical center focusing on materials engineering. From 1993
through 1997 he held manufacturing positions in Wilson and later
Decatur, Ill., later returning to Japan as a plant manager. He has
held his current position as plant manager at BFNT's Warren County
plant since November 2000.
Ringgenberg, 53, who will succeed Nishigai at the Warren County
facility, has more than thirty years of broad based experience at
all levels of the tire manufacturing process. He began his career
with the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company as an hourly employee
at the Des Moines, Iowa plant and worked his way up through the
organization to production manager and later plant manager at the
company's Decatur facility.
The newly created position of General Manager at the Aiken County
plant will be filled by Rose, 49. He joined the company in 1972
and gained experience in tire manufacturing through diverse assignments.
His most recent position is that of Group Leader in the Aiken County
plant, a job he has held since the plant opened in 1998.
"With our renewed vigor and focus on quality and on manufacturing,
we as a company are extremely fortunate to have individuals of such
high caliber to fill these critical positions," said Kawakami.
Nashville, Tennessee based Bridgestone/Firestone North American
Tire, LLC. is a subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc.
BFNT develops, manufactures, and markets Bridgestone, Firestone,
Dayton and private and associate brand tires. The company is focused
on wholesale and original equipment markets, supplying passenger,
light truck, commercial vehicle, off-road, agriculture and other
tires to its customers in North America. Bridgestone Americas Holding,
Inc. is a subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation of Japan, the world's
largest tire and rubber manufacturer. Through its subsidiaries,
BFAH develops, manufactures, and markets a broad array of products
including tires, industrial products such as air springs, roofing
materials, synthetic rubber, and industrial fibers and textiles. |
