Bridgestone invests $550m to expand Tennessee TBR tyre plant

Bridgestone Americas recently broke ground on a new expansion of its Truck and Bus Radial (TBR) tyre plant in Morrison, Tennessee.

The $550 million investment is expected to create 380 new jobs and will expand the plant’s existing footprint by 850,000 square feet to support increased capacity and to accelerate the use of advanced technologies that support cleaner, safer and more efficient commercial truck and bus fleets.

As part of the expansion, the Tennessee pant will be one of the first globally to add the capability to produce Bridgestone’s Enliten technology, which is optimised for rolling resistance and wear.

The investment will also allow for all tyres made there to be equipped with RFID (radio frequency identification) tags that enable more efficient asset management and optimisation of fleets’ investments in tyres, including retreading.

Bridgestone says the plant will incorporate technology for digital readiness in tyres, including the integration of tyre-mounted sensors that support advanced, data-driven insights for more efficient fleet management.

Bridgestone will also invest in AI control technology that increases productivity and the application of knowledge and data in a digital manufacturing environment.

These technologies combined will help accelerate the company’s progress toward its sustainability goals, including carbon neutrality by 2050, according to Bridgestone.

The expansion of the 33-year-old facility is now underway, with construction expected to be mostly completed by the end of 2026.