Bridgestone Opens New Race Tire Manufacturing Facility

Bridgestone Americas recently celebrated the grand opening of its new Advanced Tire Production Center (ATPC) in Akron, Ohio. Home to 60 expert tire builders and manufacturing professionals, the ATPC will manufacture all Firestone Firehawk race tires for the NTT IndyCar Series.

Bridgestone invested more than $21 million to build its new home for race tire production, the company said, which includes both new construction and the redevelopment of an existing structure. Located across the street from the Bridgestone Americas Technology Center, one of three major R&D centers for Bridgestone globally, the 80,000 square-foot ATPC features state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies to advance innovation in race tires, the company said. The ATPC will also manufacture small batches of specialty, prototype tires for testing and development purposes for both racing and on-road applications.

“The new ATPC is a reflection of both our proud history in Akron and racing while also exemplifying our company’s vision for sustainability in all aspects of our business,” said Paolo Ferrari, President & CEO, Bridgestone Americas. “For more than a century, Akron has been where our most advanced tires have been conceived, designed and built, and now we are furthering this legacy in a more sustainable production environment where the world’s best engineers, technicians and master tire builders will shape the future of tires and racing.”