Bridgestone Americas Inc. is celebrating 75 years of manufacturing tires at its plant in Des Moines, Iowa. The facility - which produces 90% of all the ag tires that Bridgestone sells in the United States and Canada - also builds OTR and forestry tires.
“This is a historic milestone that we are proud to reach thanks to the dedication of so many who have invested in our plant – first and foremost, our employees and retirees, as well as the ongoing support of our customers and the local community and state of Iowa,” says Greg Halford, Des Moines plant manager, Bridgestone Americas. “We remain committed to delivering world-class Firestone ag tires to our customers and working together to feed the world."
Over the years, the Des Moines plant has been recognized for numerous awards for its dedication to quality, performance and safety, according to Bridgestone officials. It was the first U.S. tire manufacturing facility to receive recognition from the Iowa Quality Center’s State Recognition of Performance Excellence program. It has also a Gold Level Malcom Baldrige certification award in 2016.
In 2019, the plant achieved the highest level in the Caterpillar Supplier Quality Excellence Process Certification – platinum - for third third consecutive year and also earned recognition as a “partner-level supplier” in John Deere’s Achieving Excellence Program.
“I want to thank our Des Moines teammates past and present for their contributions to the ag industry over the past 75 years,” says Tony Orlando, president, Firestone Ag. “Farmers around the world depend on Firestone ag tires to get the job done. This is a testament to the tradition of quality and excellence in manufacturing that continues to guide operations at our Des Moines tire plant today.”
