Bridgestone announced its Bandag retread manufacturing plant in Oxford, N.C., celebrated 50 years of production on Sept. 26, 2019.

Bandag is Bridgestone’s business unit dedicated to the research, development and manufacturing of premium retread tires. The Bandag plant in Oxford began manufacturing tread rubber and retreading materials in 1969 and continues to play a vital role in the local community by employing nearly 200 people.

“As we celebrate 50 years of manufacturing and production in Oxford, we are thankful for our devoted employees and their continued dedication to engineering products that are reliable, profitable and sustainable. We also thank the Oxford community for its ongoing support,” said Mark Highland, plant manager, Bandag Oxford Plant, Bridgestone Americas Manufacturing Group (BAMG). “We are proud to manufacture quality retread rubber to help fleets run for thousands more miles and keep this country moving.”

The 225,000-square-foot facility and 135,000-square-foot warehouse in Oxford are home to the company’s top-of-the-line production equipment, used to engineer precured rubber tread, cushion and chemical materials that are used in the retreading process.

According to Bridgestone, an industry best practice for large commercial fleets, retreading is the process of replacing the tread of a tire casing with a new tread rather than replacing the entire tire. The retreading process helps defer millions of tires from landfills annually by keeping them on the road instead of removing them from service after one use. Through the reduced natural resource consumption that results from the retreading process, approximately 225 million gallons of oil are saved annually given that one retread saves 15 gallons of oil and approximately 15 million tires are retreaded each year. Not only is retreading a sustainable business practice, it can help fleets lower tire costs to as low as 1.5 cents per mile, Bridgestone added.

During its 50 years in operation, the Oxford plant has received several certifications for quality management and environmental responsibility including ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications. The plant has also obtained the Carolina Star Certification, which recognizes employers who have implemented safety and health management systems to reduce employee injury rates and is patterned after the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration Voluntary Protection Program.

“We are excited to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of manufacturing and operations at the Bandag plant in Oxford,” said Eric Higgs, president, truck, bus and retread tires, U.S. and Canada, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC (BATO). “This achievement is a testament to the dedication of our employees in Oxford and their continued commitment to making mobility more efficient for commercial customers.”