Goodyear, Bridgestone apply for grants in North Carolina

Raleigh, North Carolina -- Goodyear and Bridgestone/Firestone (BFS) could receive up to $30 million each over 10 years to maintain employment and upgrade equipment at their factories in North Carolina.

The tyre makers applied for the grants from the North Carolina Department of Commerce under the Job Maintenance and Capital Development Fund law approved in September 2007.

Designed to benefit companies with at least 2000 employees in economically depressed counties in the state, the funding law requires grant applicants to maintain employment at the level attained when the grant was applied for and make at least $200 million in capital improvements.

Goodyear employs 2398 at its Fayetteville, North Carolina, facility, and Bridgestone employs 2,083 in Wilson, North Carolina.

A BFS spokesman said the state already has authorised a first-year payment of $2.5 million to the Wilson plant. The tyre maker is investing large sums to increase capacity to make large-diameter high-performance and ultra-high-performance tyres, and is contacting community and technical colleges in the area to assist in training workers for those production lines, he said.

Goodyear's funds have been approved and allocated but not authorised yet, a company spokeswoman said. Some agreements between Goodyear and the state still need to be finalised, but the company expects to get its first grant payment before the end of this year, she said.

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)