Bridgestone Tires

Bridgestone Americas' corporate family traces its roots to two distinguished companies - The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, which Harvey Firestone formed in Akron, Ohio in August 1900, and the Bridgestone Tire Company Ltd. which Shojiro Ishibashi started in Japan in 1931.

Bridgestone Corporation purchased Firestone in 1988 for $2.6 billion, transforming the companies' combined operations into the world's largest tire and rubber company. The operations in the Americas were renamed Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. and became the largest subsidiary of Bridgestone. As part of its integration with Bridgestone's existing U.S. operations, Bridgestone/Firestone moved its headquarters from Akron to Nashville in 1992.

Today, this subsidiary, now named Bridgestone Americas (BSAM), consists of an international family of enterprises with 52 production facilities and more than 50,000 employees throughout the Americas.

BSAM and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market a wide range of Bridgestone, Firestone, and associate brand tires to address the needs of a broad range of customers, including consumers, automotive and commercial vehicle original equipment manufacturers, and those in the agricultural, forestry and mining industries. The companies are also engaged in retreading operations throughout the Western Hemisphere and produce air springs, roofing materials, and industrial fibers and textiles. The BSAM family of companies also operates the world's largest chain of automotive tire and service centers.