US Tire Factory Earns International Sustainability Certification

The Lightyear One uses tires that cut rolling resistance through innovative treads, larger diameters and high inflation pressures. Photo courtesy Bridgestone Americas Inc.

GRANITEVILLE, SC—Bridgestone’s factory here has become the first tire manufacturing facility in America to earn the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS recognition for its use of sustainable raw materials to replace synthetic rubber.

Bridgestone Americas Inc. has set a goal of making its tires from 100-percent sustainable materials by 2050.

“Step by step, we are working to overcome the technological and market barriers to fully sustainable and renewable tires made with bio-sourced and recycled materials,” says Nizar Trigui, chief technology officer and group president of Bridgestone Americas. “This ISCC PLUS certification is an important mile marker in our journey to become a leading sustainable solutions company.”

In 2021, Bridgestone announced that the manufacturing process at the factory would be directly powered by a ground-based solar array. The facility is powered by approximately 8 acres of solar panels that generate enough electricity to power over 200 homes annually, while also reducing 1,400 metric tons of CO₂ emissions each year.

Spanning 2.78 million square feet, the factory employs more than 1,740 people. It has been producing radial tires for passenger cars and light trucks since 1997.

The ASSEMBLY Show South

ASSEMBLY is thrilled to return to the Music City Center in Nashville, TN for The ASSEMBLY Show SOUTH on May 1-2, 2024. This is a booming time for manufacturing and the U.S. South is right in the heart of the action. According to ASSEMBLY’s most recent annual capital spending survey, the South is projected to account for 31 percent of total spending this year, marking the fifth straight year this region has accounted for at least 30 percent of capital spending in the U.S.

In this session, manufacturers will learn how Quality function deployment (QFD) can transform consumers’ qualitative demands into quantitative parameters that will shape the design of their product and, ultimately, their manufacturing process.

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