Nashville, Tennessee-based Bridgestone Americas, a subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, is expanding its Williamsburg, Kentucky, air springs manufacturing facility at an investment of $51 million.
The investments in the Firestone Industrial Products' (FSIP) plant will help meet market demand in the automotive vehicle market, focusing on the electric vehicle (EV) sector. The construction will begin in the second quarter of this year and wrap up by 2022.
The expansion will focus on adding 68,000 square feet of manufacturing space to accommodate new equipment that will increase plant capacity. This project will increase the workforce at the Williamsburg plant by 250 employees, the company said.
FSIP is a leading global supplier of air suspensions for the EV industry. Firestone air suspensions help improve ride comfort and handling and increase electric vehicle range and help protect batteries from road impact and overheating.
Emily Poladian, President, Firestone Industrial Products, said, 'Firestone air suspensions are optimally designed with electric vehicles in mind. Compared to traditional coil spring suspensions, our air suspensions are designed to help improve the handling and comfort of heavier electric vehicles and can even help improve EV range by lowering the vehicle to help improve aerodynamics. Advanced air suspensions are increasingly a 'must-have' technology on premium electric vehicles, and Firestone is committed to maintaining its leadership in this exciting and important market.'
Parts for the commercial vehicle market (truck, trailer and bus) and automotive vehicle markets are produced at the Williamsburg Plant, the only full US manufacturer of this product category. The company's other in the country is located in Dyersburg, Tennessee, where air springs are assembled.
FSIP designs, tests, and manufactures air suspensions at its location in Williamsburg, Kentucky, and Brazil, China, Costa Rica and its newly expanded facility in Poland. FSIP's North America Advanced Technical Design Centre in Fishers, Indiana, enables the company to remain agile and focus on speed to market, which is a crucial requirement of start-up EV companies.