Investment Overview

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey Firestone in 1900 initially to supply solid rubber side-wire tires for fire apparatus, and later, pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. Firestone soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles, and the company was a pioneer in the mass production of tires. Harvey Firestone had a personal friendship with Henry Ford, and used this to become the original equipment supplier of Ford Motor Company automobiles, and was also active in the replacement market. The Bridgestone Americas family of enterprises includes more than 50 production facilities and 55,000 employees throughout the Americas. The Bridgestone Americas International footprint includes manufacturing and sales subsidiaries located in Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico, which additional offices throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Offering a wide range of Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand tires, BATO maintains wholesale and original equipment sales operations across a broad line of products, including passenger, light truck, commercial truck, and bus, agricultural, motorcycle, kart and off-the-road tires.