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Company to invest $36M in expansion
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Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations announced yesterday it will invest $36.6 million in its Warren County plant to increase production capacity by an additional 900 truck tires per day.
The expansion is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2013 and is projected to create 50 new jobs.
Bridgestone Americas Commercial Solutions group president Kurt Danielson made the announcement at a press conference attended by local, state and company officials at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
“With increasing demand in the market, it was time for us to increase capacity to meet the needs of customers seeking world-class Bridgestone and Firestone truck and bus tires,” said Danielson. “The outstanding people and facilities at our Warren County plant, as well as the long-standing partnership we have with the Warren County community and the state of Tennessee, made it the perfect location to make this investment and expand our production.”
In addition, Bridgestone Metalpha USA, a subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, announced a $75 million expansion at its plant in Clarksville, which will provide an additional 45 jobs in that community.
Gov. Bill Haslam lauded Bridgestone for its commitment to the state and local economies.
“I want to thank Bridgestone Americas for their continued reinvestment in Warren County and Tennessee. Our Jobs4TN strategy focuses on expanding existing businesses in-state, and Bridgestone Americas is providing jobs while also demonstrating a commitment to improving the quality of the community itself,” said Haslam.
On hand at the event was Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty.
“This major expansion in Warren County and the creation of new high-quality jobs underscores the success we are enjoying with the governor’s emphasis on growing existing Tennessee businesses. I congratulate Bridgestone on expanding its footprint as a flagship Tennessee company,” said Hagerty. “I have enjoyed the close working relationship with the Bridgestone CEO and president Gary Garfield and the entire Bridgestone team and look forward to celebrating many more successes in the future.”
State Rep. Charlie Curtiss said the expansion will provide a welcome boost to economic recovery in Warren County and the surrounding area.
“I think it’s a great day,” Curtiss said. “There are a lot of places this corporation could spend its money, and it’s investing it in Warren County. I think that’s a blessing.”
State Sen. Eric Stewart said it’s encouraging to hear news like this and credits the teammates in the Warren County plant, as well as the community, for providing the kind of work ethic and support that had a positive effect on Bridgestone’s decision.
“The folks in Warren County should be very happy, and they should be very proud too,” said Stewart. “Because when a corporation like Bridgestone looks at expanding or building a new facility, they take a close look at what kind of community their employees come from, what kind of education system they have, what kind of partnership they have with the entire community. We should be very pleased they decided to expand the Warren County plant because it says a lot for the county.”
In his remarks at the press conference Danielson expressed his appreciation to director of economic development Jeff McCormick and the Industrial Development Board for their contributions.
“We all understand that it is about profit, but at Bridgestone in Warren County it’s more than that,” McCormick said. “Bridgestone is like family to the area. From helping farmers out during a drought, to bringing kids to the Warren plant to teach them about our environment, Bridgestone is a vital member of our community and we are pleased to help create an environment that they can be successful in.”
The Warren County facility, which began operations in 1990, earned LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2008, becoming the first tire plant in the world to do so. The Warren County facility has also been recognized as an OSHA Voluntary Protection Program Star site. VPP status is awarded to companies that have comprehensive safety and health programs with injury rates below the industry’s national average.
The Bridgestone family of companies has invested more than $1.5 billion in manufacturing and distribution facilities and employs nearly 4,000 people in Tennessee.

Local farm partnership brings fresh beef to Warren County Schools
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Warren County Schools has beefed up lunch menus this school year through a new community partnership. Thanks to a collaboration between the district’s School Nutrition Department and Barton Creek Farms, students at Warren County High School, Warren County Middle School, West Elementary, Eastside Elementary, and Dibrell Elementary are enjoying locally sourced, farm-fresh beef in their lunches as part of a pilot program.

The initiative, spearheaded by Terri Mullican, Director of School Nutrition, has already shown great promise in its first few months. The partnership with Barton Creek Farms, located in Rock Island, Tennessee, ensures that the beef served is not only local to Warren County but of the highest quality. Barton Creek Farms specializes in farm-to-fork beef, with grass-fed and grain-finished cattle. Each calf is born and raised in Rock Island and goes through USDA-inspected processing, ensuring it meets the strictest safety and quality standards.

“When the opportunity arose to provide fresh, local beef, we knew it was a no-brainer,” Mullican said. “The fact that it’s a product from right here in our community makes it even more special. We can’t wait to implement it district-wide.”

Barton Creek Farms delivers fresh ground beef to the district monthly, and the nutrition

department incorporates it into homemade recipes such as lasagna, meatloaf, chili, and tacos.

As of now, the beef is being served at five schools, but the ultimate goal is to expand the program to all ten lunch-serving schools in the district.

The pilot program originated from a conversation between Mary Roller of Barton Creek Farms and Mullican. Roller, recognizing the farm’s potential to support local schools, reached out to gauge the district’s interest in serving local beef to students. Around the same time, a Warren County school board member contacted Mullican to share information about a similar partnership in neighboring Dekalb County, which helped push the initiative forward.

The timing worked in the district’s favor, as the nutrition department was able to fund the purchase of the beef using existing resources, eliminating the need for additional funding. Now that the pilot program is enjoying a successful run, the department has budgeted to extend the partnership district-wide for the 2025-26 school year.

Dr. Grant Swallows, Director of Schools, praised the program’s economic approach to student nutrition.

“This pilot is a perfect example of how we can use local resources to continue providing nutritious, healthy meals for our students,” he said. “We are grateful for partnerships like this one that benefit both our students and our local community. We always strive to support our local businesses when we can because our community is so good to us.”

In addition to working with Warren County Schools, Barton Creek Farms also partners with local restaurants to offer farm-fresh beef on their menus. The farm’s offerings include ground beef, steaks, roasts, and custom cuts by the quarter, half, or whole cow, meeting diverse consumer needs.

As the program continues to grow, the district hopes to expand its focus on farm-to-school meals, benefiting students’ health and connecting them to the agricultural roots of the community