Bridgestone/Firestone expanding Wilson facility

June 9, 2005
A few years ahead of the company's original projections, Bridgestone/Firestone North America hopes to add more than 230,000-square-feet to its Franklin Road distribution center prior to year's end.
According to Lebanon Assistant Planner Will Hager, the company has submitted plans for the "sizable addition" to be considered at the Lebanon Planning Commission's June 28 meeting.
Joe Gray, the distribution center manager for the Lebanon facility, said the company hopes to hold a formal ground breaking ceremony for the expansion as early as mid-July – an event no one expected to occur so quickly.
"Our target is certainly (to complete the expansion) by the end of the year," Gray said. "It's an expansion that we had planned, but we had really planned it to be several years out. But, business is going extremely well.
"This particular facility has grown much more quickly than we anticipated. We are the largest customer distribution center that we have in the country now. We ship to more dealers and wholesalers than any of the other distribution centers."
Due to the increased business, Gray explained the facility is often short on space, fueling the need to expand to a total of 1 million square feet.
Bridgestone/Firestone North America spokesperson Chris Karbowiak noted the expansion would also create approximately five to 10 new jobs at the distribution center.
Currently, according to Gray, the facility employs 107 workers.
"Business is doing very well, and (the expansion) is necessary to better service the organization," Karbowiak commented. " … It will allow us to take more inventory into the facility. It will also allow us to minimize external warehousing facilities, so it becomes much more efficient."
Staff Writer Brian Harville can be reached at 444-3952 ext. 16 or by e-mail at brian.harville@lebanondemocrat.com.