Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations Facility Celebrates 20 Years Of Tire Production, Community InvolvementTruck & bus tire facility also dedicates environmental learning pavilion

WARREN COUNTY, Tenn. (May 12, 2010) - The Warren County, Tenn., facility, part of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO), today marked an important milestone — two decades of producing world-class quality truck and bus tires. Company executives, co-workers, elected officials, family and friends joined together to celebrate the facility’s continued commitment to excellence through its superior product quality and service to the community.

“Our Warren County co-workers truly embody what it means to live the Bridgestone Way: through a commitment to excellence and through a focus on serving society with superior quality for the products they produce,” said Gary Garfield, President and CEO, Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM), BATO’s parent company. “This plant has set the standard for all of our manufacturing operations.”

BSAM Chairman Duke Nishiyama and BATO Chairman, CEO and President Eduardo Minardi were also part of the celebration.

“We are very proud of the team in Warren County both for their teamwork in making high-quality tires and in setting the standard in our industry for safety and environmental performance,” Minardi said. “Congratulations to everyone at the Warren County facility for 20 successful years; we know the plant will reach even more milestones in the future.”

As part of today’s ceremony, the facility officially dedicated its Bridgestone Environmental Education Classroom & Habitat (BEECH) learning pavilion. Since last year, the BEECH wildlife habitat program has provided more than 5,000 young people with environmental education on outdoor nature trails and in an advanced, hands-on classroom. The students learn important lessons about recycling, conservation and the shared responsibility to protect the environment.

“I am extremely proud to have spent my career working for Bridgestone Americas, a company whose passion for excellence is not only applied to its products and services, but also transcends into the very heart of the communities where our businesses are located through a variety of donations and resources that benefit the lives of the citizens who reside there,” said Ron Brooks, who recently retired as Plant Manager. “Bridgestone Americas’ ongoing commitment to world-class technology and our teammates’ ongoing commitment to be world leaders in safety, quality and productivity while going above and beyond to dedicate their time and resources to help their fellow man through a variety of local community initiatives, sets us apart from all others.”

In addition to celebrating the facility’s milestone, Brooks was also recognized with a Senate Joint Resolution on behalf of his service to the people of Tennessee and in honor of his retirement.

“We thought it was important for the state to recognize Ron for his contributions to the city, county and state,” said State Senator Eric Stewart. “On behalf of all of the elected officials attending today’s 20th anniversary celebration, we’re happy we were able to present the Senate Joint Resolution to such a well-deserving person.”

The Warren County facility has received more than 40 awards and recognitions for the quality of its products, its operations, and its safety and environmental initiatives. In 2008, the Warren County facility became LEED certified by the U. S. Green Building Council. This recognition is rarely given to existing manufacturing facilities — it is one of only two LEED-certified tire plants in the world; the other tire plant is BATO’s Aiken County, S.C., passenger and light truck tire facility. Warren County has also been recognized by the following agencies: Environmental Protection Agency, Governor of Tennessee, National Wildlife Council, Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, Tennessee Board of Education and the Tennessee Wildlife Federation.