Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations Aiken County Facility Earns Prestigious LEED CertificationU.S. Green Building Council recognizes second BATO facility
AIKEN COUNTY, S.C. (Feb. 2, 2010) - The Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) consumer tire manufacturing plant in Aiken County, S.C., has earned LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
LEED certification recognizes outstanding environmental building design and utilization and is rarely given to existing manufacturing sites. With this honor, the Aiken County facility becomes the second LEED-certified BATO tire plant, joining the Warren County, Tenn., truck and bus tire plant that earned the distinction in November 2008. These are the first two LEED-certified tire manufacturing facilities in the world.
“Becoming the second tire plant to ever be LEED-certified is a great achievement for the teammates in Aiken County,” said John Stewart, Aiken County Plant Manager, BATO. “I am very proud of how we continue to strive for and meet high environmental standards at the plant and as a company.”
The facility earned LEED certification by accumulating points based on criteria for existing buildings including water efficiency, sustainability and indoor environmental quality. Specifically, the plant reduced emissions from equipment by converting to bio-fuels, replacing paper towel dispensers with air hand dryers, installing waterless urinals, upgrading to more energy-efficient light bulbs, installing negative pressure smoking hoods and establishing high-priority parking zones for carpoolers and hybrid vehicles.
“We really worked hard to find ways to be more environmentally sustainable in our policies and practices,” said Jimmy Vaughn, Aiken County Environmental Engineer, BATO. “The new, more environmentally friendly ways we conduct ourselves at the plant will have a positive impact on our environment and save money by reducing waste and consumption.”
Indeed, new policies adopted by the Aiken County facility will help both the environment and the facility’s own bottom line. For instance, 37 new waterless urinals and sensor faucets will cut annual water consumption by 1,480,000 gallons — enough water to supply seven houses for one year. The facility’s new energy-efficient light bulbs increase light levels, lower mercury levels and have almost double the lifespan of previous bulbs. These practices all help the Aiken County plant support the Bridgestone Group’s global “One Team, One Planet” environmental initiative.
The facility produces passenger and light truck tires and employs nearly 1,100 teammates.
About Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations:
Nashville, Tenn.-based Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) is a business unit of Bridgestone Americas, Inc., whose parent company, Bridgestone Corporation, is the world's largest tire and rubber company. Reporting into the BATO business unit are the company’s Latin American tire operations, the U.S. and Canadian consumer tire businesses and the U.S. and Canadian commercial tire businesses. BATO develops, manufactures and markets Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand tires. The business unit is focused on retail, wholesale and original equipment markets, supplying passenger, light truck, commercial vehicle, off road, motorcycle, agricultural and other tires to its customers in the Americas. In addition, through its Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions unit, retreading customers have access to industry-leading research and development, manufacturing, marketing and sales expertise, providing them with a total tire solution.