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Bridgestone/Firestone Opens New Distribution Center
in Lebanon, Tenn.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (October 24, 2003) – During the opening ceremonies of its newest distribution center
in Lebanon, Tenn., Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC (BFNT)
today welcomed more than 100 guests to tour its facility and also announced
a tire donation to the Lebanon Fire Department and the Wilson County
Emergency Management Agency (WEMA).
“Our company has a long tradition of giving back
to the communities where we live and work,” said Nelson Miller,
director of distribution, BFNT. “We decided there was no better
way to display that commitment than to equip local emergency management
vehicles that help ensure the safety of our communities.”
BFNT donated 30 tires each to the fire department and
emergency management agency. BFNT employees Will Sellers, Robert Saul
and Chuck Tarver spearheaded the donation. Sellers, Saul and Tarver
worked with WEMA to establish the first Community Emergency Response
Team (CERT) in Tennessee. All three are now trained as first responders
and their leadership helped create this first-of-its kind volunteer
emergency response team in their neighborhood. Through their volunteer
work with WEMA, they learned of the fire department’s need for
tires.
“This donation builds on the active leadership
role Sellers, Saul and Tarver took in their communities,” said
Joe Gray, plant manager of the Lebanon distribution center. “We
are glad we were able to help in this small way, and are proud that
representatives with WEMA and the Lebanon Fire Department are here today
to help us celebrate the opening of our new facility.”
The new 750,000 square foot distribution center is
the last built in an effort to centralize its tire distribution capabilities.
The Lebanon site is BFNT’s primary distribution center for its
customers in the mid-South. The new location enables BFNT to expand
and centralize its distribution network, as well as reach out to a customer
base that spans the South.
The new Lebanon warehouse has capacity for more than
a million tires, ranging in size from small passenger and industrial
to large off-the-road tires and will be the largest Bridgestone/Firestone
distribution center in the country. The facility employs more than 200
people, ranging from warehouse, maintenance and loading jobs to drivers
of distribution trucks, and has an estimated economic impact of $10
million annually. This new warehouse, which is located on State Highway
109 approximately one mile from I-840 and three miles south of I-40,
is not designed to be simply a storage facility. Rather, it is a superhighway
of inventory. Tires will move quickly through the warehouse to their
final destination, typically staying at the facility less than four
weeks.
Nashville-based Bridgestone/Firestone North American
Tire, LLC, is a subsidiary of Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc., whose
parent company, Bridgestone Corporation, is the world's largest tire
and rubber company. BFNT develops, manufactures, and markets Bridgestone,
Firestone, Dayton and associate and private brand tires. The company
is focused on wholesale and original equipment markets, supplying passenger,
light truck, commercial vehicle, off-road, agricultural and other tires
to its customers in North America.
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