Official opening for Bridgestone Americas’ new HQ

At a ceremony yesterday, Bridgestone Americas, Inc. celebrated the official opening of its new headquarters building, Bridgestone Tower. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, the 514,000-square foot (47,750 square metre), 30-storey tower is now home to more than 1,700 Bridgestone employees.

Masaaki Tsuya, Bridgestone Corporation’s global chief executive officer and representative executive officer, and Gordon Knapp, president and chief executive officer of Bridgestone Americas, joined Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty in a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“This is a historic day for Bridgestone and our teammates – we’re proud to call this great city home and see Bridgestone Tower standing tall in the Nashville skyline,” said Knapp. “This effort was only made possible due to the tremendous support we have from Nashville city leadership and Tennessee state leadership, and the Nashville community. Additionally, through the relentless work of our teammates and partners, Bridgestone Tower has come to life.”

Bridgestone’s relationship with Nashville began in 1992 when the company moved its primary operations from Akron, Ohio, to Tennessee following Bridgestone Corporation’s 1988 merger with the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company. Gordon Knapp commented that “Nashville and Bridgestone have made an incredible team” since Bridgestone first moved there.

As well as witnessing the opening of Bridgestone Tower, attendees also celebrated the honorary naming of the street in front of the building as Bridgestone Drive as well as the five-year extension of naming rights for Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators ice hockey team. The existing agreement, which includes a marketing partnership with the Predators, began in 2010 and now will continue into 2025.

Bridgestone Tower is the second facility opened this year by Bridgestone in the Nashville region. In June, the company inaugurated the Bridgestone Operations Center in nearby Antioch; more than 450 employees and contractors work at this site in financial shared services, information technology and customer support. The Bridgestone Tower and Bridgestone Operations Center bring together the company’s corporate staff and core business units to Nashville and Antioch: Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations; Bridgestone Retail Operations; Firestone Building Products; Firestone Fibers and Textiles; Firestone Natural Rubber; and Firestone Industrial Products.