An automated warehouse is being built at the Bridgestone Canada passenger and light truck tire manufacturing facility in Joliette, Québec. The investment, estimated at CA$56m (US$45m), will enhance efficiency of operations at the plant and increase the company’s agility to serve North American tire dealers and customers.
With a maximum storage capacity of 500,000 tires, the new building will utilize fully automated technology to store the tires manufactured at the factory. The new facility is expected to open in early 2020.
This investment builds upon the expansion and modernization of the Joliette plant announced in 2016. This five-year, CA$312m (US$250m) project is progressing as the factory gradually increases its daily production, with a target of 20,000 tires per day by 2020.
“The construction of a highly technological warehouse demonstrates our commitment to use innovative solutions to optimize our operations to better serve our customers,” said plant manager Robert Verreault.
“The Joliette plant has been undergoing an exciting transformation for the past two years and this total investment underscores Bridgestone’s commitment to our team, the Lanaudière region and all North American customers.”
With its strategic location, the new warehouse will enable the company to reduce transportation costs and shorten time-to-market of its products to meet customer demands in Canada and across the northern belt of the USA.
“We continue taking important steps to better deliver the high-value-added products our customers want and need,” said Erik Seidel, president, consumer replacement tire sales, US and Canada, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations.
“The new distribution warehouse will provide more space to house tires on-site at the Joliette plant, improving the ability to get the right tires to the right place at the right time.”
As one of the Bridgestone Group’s most environmentally sustainable plants, the Joliette facility is committed to preserving nearby 7ha (17 acres) of wetlands on its property, and has taken this into account within the design of the warehouse. Accordingly, the new 127ft-tall (38.71m) building will be built close to the existing plant facility and be attached by a walkway.
