In the News

A little more than 20 years ago, Akron was stunned with the buyout of the city's iconic Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. by Japanese tire maker Bridgestone.

Now the Rubber City can celebrate Bridgestone Firestone deciding — albeit tentatively — to build a state-of-the-art technical center on the grounds overlooked by the massive statue of Harvey Firestone himself.

The North American head of what is now the world's largest tire maker wasted little time telling more than 1,000 employees, family members and friends at an outdoor party Tuesday that they can expect to stay put.

''I want you to be the first to know, and I'm happy to announce, that just last week we signed letters of understanding with the state of Ohio, Summit County, the Summit County Port Authority, and the city of Akron, which set out the framework to build the new technical center right here in Akron,'' said Mark Emkes, chairman and chief executive officer of Nashville-based Bridgestone Americas Holdings Inc.

The announcement, a little more than six minutes into his speech at the company's research center off South Main Street, was greeted with loud cheers, whoops, whistles and handclaps.

''I assume from your applause that's one decision we got right,'' Emkes deadpanned.

Employees were invited to the research center, across from Firestone Stadium, to play games, look at racing and specialty vehicles and eat pulled pork, hot dogs, pasta salad, baked beans and cookies to commemorate the
May 5, 1988, merger.

But what started as a fun look back to 20 years ago instead became a look ahead to the company's — and city's — future.

Akron and Murfreesboro, Tenn., were the finalists for a new Bridgestone Firestone technical center. The new center will succeed the company's aging, and hulking, building on South Main Street that at one point was a tire factory and also served as Firestone's corporate headquarters.

The company in late January publicly said it needed a new facility to attract and retain top talent and was investigating whether to stay in Akron or move elsewhere.

That kicked off an intense bidding war between Ohio and Tennessee.

The winning Ohio proposal as tentatively agreed upon calls for redevelopment of the surrounding Firestone Park neighborhood, although few details were made available Tuesday.

Revitalizing the neighborhood is a ''cornerstone'' of the project, said Bob Handlos, Bridgestone Firestone vice president of materials and race technology who is in charge of the new technical center project. The idea is to have facilities and an area that will help attract and retain top young engineering talent, he said.

An artist's concept on display in the research center showed a new building on what is now the center's front lawn along South Main Street and Firestone Boulevard.

More work ahead

The proposal needs to clear other hurdles before it becomes final.

The North American boards of directors must agree on the Akron proposal, with the Bridgestone Corp. board in Japan having final say. The state, city and county governments also have to agree on final details.

''We still have quite a bit of work to do,'' Emkes said. ''We are very hopeful that this agreement will help us retain 1,000 jobs in Akron.''

Emkes said the company's final decision will likely be made before the end of the year.

''I feel pretty good about the process,'' he said.

The company in a news release said the 240,000-square-foot building would represent a ''combined private and public investment of more than $100 million.''

Construction is to begin in early 2010 and be completed by the end of 2012.

''Our teammates are gonna feel the love,'' Emkes said. ''They are going to be working in a world-class environment.''

Emkes said Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic at one point told him that Ohio's offer will be so good that the company will want to move from Nashville to Akron.

A lot of people don't realize that Bridgestone Firestone has more employees in Akron than at its Nashville headquarters, Emkes said.

But it still makes sense to stay in Tennessee, where the company also has two tire factories, Emkes said. ''We have an established base in Tennessee,'' he said.

Unresolved details

The only part of Ohio's economic package that is finalized is an $18 million tax credit, said Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, who also heads the Ohio Department of Development. The state's other incentives will be greater than the $18 million credit, he said.

Ohio's economic development package had previously been estimated at $68 million.

Fisher, Plusquellic and Summit County Executive Russ Pry also addressed the crowd. The county's share of the package will be $6.8 million, Pry said.

The $18 million Ohio Tax Credit Authority proposal allows Bridgestone Firestone to pay just 25 percent of its state commercial activity tax bills for 15 years. The company then would be required to retain operations in Akron for at least 18 years.

The estimated $68 million economic-development package was put together by state, Summit County and city officials.

The end result in Akron will be a ''little technology triangle,'' Handlos said. The new technical center will be built alongside the research center as well as the company's computer facility, he said

Plusquellic, whose father, grandfather and uncles worked for Firestone, recalled working two summers for Firestone unloading freight cars and driving a forklift. He called the announcement a great day for the city and thanked everyone who helped make the agreement possible.

''This is a tremendous statement about our community,'' Plusquellic said. ''When a company like Bridgestone Firestone says Akron is a good place to do business, other people listen.''