Producer
Bridgestone Corporation
Japanese tire conglomerate (TYO: 5108); world's largest tire company by revenue. Agricultural segment: Firestone Ag brand (acquired with Firestone 1988) + Bridgestone ag tires. Primary North American ag tire facility: Des Moines, Iowa (established 1945, "largest farm tire manufacturing facility in the world," 1,400 employees, $77M expansion 2016). DISRUPTION: June 2024, Bridgestone laid off 118 workers (revised to 89) citing 18% YoY decline in North American ag tire demand and 15% global decline; January 2025 additional voluntary separation program at Des Moines. Also a top-3 rubber track manufacturer: confirmed OEM to Kubota, Yanmar, Takeuchi, Case. Also produces non-ag tires across passenger, truck, and specialty markets. Higher natural rubber production costs cited as compounding factor alongside demand decline.
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Inputs supplied
2
Goods downstream
2
Facilities
0
Stories
What they make
2 inputs Bridgestone Corporation supplies
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Goods downstream
Essential goods that depend on something Bridgestone Corporation makes, pick one to see the full supply chain.
Where they make it
2 facilities
Bridgestone (Firestone Ag) – Des Moines, Iowa →
USIowa
Established 1945 as Firestone farm tire plant; self-described "largest farm tire manufacturing facility in the world." 1,400 employees (pre-2024 layoffs). Produces Firestone Ag and Bridgestone agricultural tires for OEM and aftermarket. $77M investment announced for expansion (2016). DISRUPTIONS: June 2024 layoffs of 118 workers (revised to 89) citing 18% North American YoY ag tire demand decline and 15% global YoY decline; January 2025 additional voluntary separation program due to "ongoing demand constraints." Higher natural rubber production costs compounded the demand squeeze. This plant is the most significant single ag tire production facility in North America.
Firestone Natural Rubber Plantation, Harbel →
LRMargibi County, Liberia · mine
One of the world's largest contiguous rubber plantations: ~120,000 acres, ~220M trees; operated since 1926 by Firestone (now Bridgestone); supplies ~30,000 t/yr of NR directly to Bridgestone facilities; controversial history — Firestone continued operations during Liberian civil wars
What else they do
Business segments
The company's full revenue map, where this supply-chain role fits within their broader business.
Tires (Passenger & Light Vehicle)
45%Tires (Truck, Bus, OTR)
25%Agricultural Tires & Tracks
10%Diversified Products
12%Solutions & Services
8%
Intelligence
What's known
Sourced claims about this company's role in supply chains, chokepoints, concentration, incidents, dual-use connections.
Incident2024
In June 2024, Bridgestone laid off 118 workers (later revised to 89) at its Des Moines, Iowa plant — the largest farm tire manufacturing facility in the world — citing an 18% year-over-year decline in North American agricultural tire demand and a 15% global year-over-year decline. In January 2025, Bridgestone announced an additional voluntary separation program due to "ongoing demand constraints." This is the steepest demand contraction in US agricultural tires since the 2015-2016 farm income crisis. The plant employs ~1,400 workers and has produced Firestone farm tires since 1945. Higher natural rubber costs simultaneously squeezed margins while demand fell.
Agriculture Dive ↗Origin2022
Bridgestone owns the Firestone rubber plantation in Liberia — a relic of Harvey Firestone's 1926 deal with the Liberian government that is still one of the world's largest rubber plantations after 100 years and two civil wars In 1926, Harvey Firestone signed a 99-year lease with the Liberian government for 1 million acres of land at $0.06/acre/year, establishing the Firestone Natural Rubber Company plantation at Harbel. The plantation grew to 120,000 acres with 220 million trees, providing a direct US-controlled natural rubber supply during WWII after Japanese forces seized Southeast Asian plantations. Bridgestone acquired Firestone in 1988 and inherited the Liberia operation. The plantation remained operational through both Liberian civil wars (1989-2003), with temporary suspension periods. It currently produces ~30,000 t/yr of natural rubber, representing a small but strategically significant share of Bridgestone's NR needs — and remains one of the world's largest single-company rubber plantations.
Bridgestone Corporation ↗