The Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) consumer tire manufacturing plant in Aiken County, S.C., has earned LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
LEED certification recognizes outstanding environmental building design and utilization. With this honor, the Aiken County facility becomes the second LEED-certified BATO tire plant, joining the Warren County, Tenn., truck and bus tire plant that earned the distinction in November 2008.
These are the first two LEED-certified tire manufacturing facilities in the world.
The facility earned LEED certification by accumulating points based on criteria for existing buildings including water efficiency, sustainability and indoor environmental quality. Specifically, the plant:
* reduced emissions from equipment by converting to bio-fuels,
* replaced paper towel dispensers with air hand dryers,
* installed waterless urinals,
* upgraded to more energy-efficient light bulbs,
* installed negative pressure smoking hoods, and
* established high-priority parking zones for carpoolers and hybrid vehicles.
The facility has the capacity to produce 25,000 passenger and light truck tires per day, according to the 2010 Modern Tire Dealer Facts Issue. It employs nearly 1,100 people.
