Bridgestone Americas will expand and modernize its truck and bus radial tire plant in Morrison, Tennessee. The $550 million project is expected to create 380 jobs in Warren County.

The 850,000-square-foot expansion is slated to begin before the end of the year, with construction expected to be substantially completed by May 2024. Once finished, the facility’s footprint will grow from 1.97 million square feet to 2.8 million square feet.

“With new investment and new jobs, we are moving our Warren County plant forward, driven by growing demand for our products, our commitment to investing in U.S. manufacturing and our Warren County team’s dedication to innovation, efficiency and quality for our customers. We appreciate the state of Tennessee and Warren County’s committed partnership, which we celebrate today as an essential element of this plant’s continued success. Our Warren County plant team plays a vital role in supporting our company’s commitment to providing safe and sustainable mobility solutions,” Paolo Ferrari, president and CEO, Bridgestone Americas said.

The expansion will support increased capacity and accelerate the use of advanced technologies that support cleaner, safer and more efficient commercial truck and bus fleets. Bridgestone will increase its existing headcount of 1,100 to more than 1,400, bringing the total number of its U.S. manufacturing workforce to nearly 10,000.

“Tennessee’s partnership with Bridgestone spans four decades, and we are grateful that this global brand has chosen to further invest in Warren County. Today’s announcement reaffirms that Tennessee’s strong workforce, quality of life and business-friendly climate attract the world’s leading businesses. We thank Bridgestone for its additional investment and job creation in Tennessee,” TNECD Commissioner Stuart McWhorter added.

The investment will allow for all tires made in Morrison to be equipped with RFID (radio frequency identification) tags, which will enable more efficient asset management and optimization of fleets’ investment in tires, including retreading.

“TVA congratulates Bridgestone on its decision to expand operations and create new impactful job opportunities and investment in Warren County. We are proud to serve companies like Bridgestone, that are committed to continued growth in the Valley. We celebrate this announcement along with our partners, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development and Industrial Development Board of McMinnville and Warren County and look forward to supporting Bridgestone’s continued business success in the region, said John Bradley, TVA senior vice president of Economic Development.