Bridgestone's Wednesday announcement that it is building a new 1.5 million square-foot off-road tire manufacturing facility in Aiken County could have a significant impact on the economy in Aiken County
Governor Nikki Haley, (R) South Carolina: “This Tokyo-based company could have picked anywhere in the country to do this investment and they picked Aiken County, South Carolina.”
Jason Williams was laid-off from his job two weeks ago. He comes ot the Aiken One-Stop Center, applying for jobs. It's part of his new routine.
Jason Williams, unemployed: “I put out resumes, I fill out applications, but still it’s hard to get a job these days.”
He’s a father, and luckily, a skilled construction worker. When the time comes, he says he’ll apply for one of the 850 new jobs. He hopes Bridgestone will need people like him to build their new plant.
They will need manufacturers, hundreds of them, to makes these huge tires. More people with jobs, means more business for Jami Chandler’s store in downtown Aiken.
Jami Chandler, downtown Aiken store owner: “I’m excited. I think that anything that brings business into downtown Aiken is good for everybody.”
Local economist Liz Stewart says the announcement came at a good time, that $1.2 billion is a large investment.
Liz Stewart, economist: “For every one of those dollars that’s brought into the community, there’s a cascading number of dollars that have impact in the community.”
It could be years before residents in Aiken County feel the full impact. Stewart says, after Bridgestone builds their new facility, there will likely operations costs...meaning more money pumped into the area.
Stewart: “This is a huge deal. This really puts us on the map and it really speaks to the national, but not just national, but international caliber of people who are working to bring corporations to our state.”
Bridgestone officials say investing outside of Japan will create options for even further future expansions. It’s just more good news for people living in Aiken County.
Bridgestone may start hiring contractors soon. Construction is set to begin in November. The first production tire is expected to be produced in 2013.
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