Bridgestone's Tennessee plant hit by flooding

ERJ staff report (R&PN)

Lavergne, Tennessee -- Bridgestone Americas' plant in LaVergne, Tennessee, felt the impact of record-breaking flash floods that swept across the Southeastern US last week, hitting parts of Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi.

Bruce Johnson, LaVergne plant manager, said the facility was without power from the afternoon of 1 May until 3 May before midnight and also experienced flooding from an overflowing creek near the grounds. During that time, the Bridgestone Emergency Response Team set up generators at the plant so employees could continue shipping tyres.

Power has since been restored at the plant. Production was at about 35-40 percent by May, with expectation for the plant to be back at full operating efficiency by week's end, Johnson said.

Johnson said the company has not been able to confirm that any LaVergne employees were personally affected by the flooding; however, four employees at Bridgestone's Nashville headquarters were affected.

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Rubber and Plastics News (a Crain publication)