Bridgestone Americas has announced two appointments to the plant leadership team at its manufacturing operations in Aiken County, S.C.
Ron Brooks now is plant manager at the company’s new off-road radial (ORR) tire factory, which is scheduled to begin production later this year. Brooks spent much of his distinguished career working for Bridgestone, and brings experience managing several manufacturing facilities, including the company’s tire operations in Warren County, Tenn., LaVergne, Tenn., and Bloomington, Ill.
“Ron possesses three decades of manufacturing expertise and has a wealth of plant leadership experience making him the perfect fit to lead our new ORR operations in Aiken County,” said Barry Owens, vice president, manufacturing, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations. “We are excited to have Brooks head up the ORR team in Aiken – managing this important capital investment for our company, as well as leading our drive to become a premier place to work.”
Fran Jones is now plant manager at its passenger (PSR) and light truck (LTR) manufacturing facility in Aiken County. Jones, previously vice president, administrative services, at the Aiken ORR plant, succeeds John Stewart, who was recently appointed plant manager for the company’s operations in Warren County, Tenn.
“Fran has made a huge impact for Bridgestone as a leader in human resources,” said Owens. “She will continue to produce great results as the new PSR Plant Manager for Aiken, and her track record of success will only increase with time.”
In April 2013, Bridgestone completed a two-phase expansion at its PSR/LTR operations in Aiken County, S.C., increasing the plant’s footprint to 2.42 million sq. ft. and its rated production capacity to 37,350 tires per day, or 13.4 million tires annually.
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