Bridgestone/Firestone receives OE supplier awards

July 30, 2003

Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire LLC (BFNT) has received two supplier awards from Honda of America Manufacturing Inc.

The company not only received Honda's Green Partner Award for environmental excellence, but also its Quality Performance Award, which recognizes outstanding performance in quality and delivery (this year, only 34 of Honda’s 461 suppliers received an honor for quality).

Bridgestone/Firestone, which supplies the Honda Civic Hybrid with its environmentally friendly Ecopia tire line, is the first tire manufacturer to receive the Green Partner Award.

The five Bridgestone/Firestone facilities that supply Honda with original equipment tires shared in both awards. They are: Oklahoma City, Okla.; La Vergne, Tenn.; Wilson, N.C.; Des Moines, Iowa; and Joliette, Quebec, Canada. All five are certified under QS 9000 and ISO 14001 international standards.

"These awards reaffirm our commitment to employing sound environmental practices in all of our facilities while continuing to provide quality products to a respected automotive manufacturer," says Mark Emkes, BFNT chairman, CEO and president.