Bridgestone Golf says it will undertake measures to “satisfy an increased consumer demand” for its premium level golf balls in the United States by increasing golf ball production at its Covington, GA., facility by 40 percent this year. As part of the plan for increased U.S.–based production, Bridgestone Golf will exclusively manufacture its Tour B330-RX family of Urethane-covered golf balls in Georgia, beginning in June 2012. The manufacturing of its popular Tour B330 family will remain in Japan.
Bridgestone's Tour B330-RX golf ball
The company says the Tour B330-RX production increase will necessitate the hiring of 20 additional full-time workers at the facility, 40 miles east of Atlanta.
“We are proud to be bringing jobs and an infusion of capital to Georgia,” said Shigeru Nakayama, president of Bridgestone Golf. “In just seven short years since we launched the Bridgestone Golf brand, we have cemented our place as the No. 2 golf ball in the industry in terms of dollar market share. That success is in large part due to the very people working right here in this factory, that are focused on product quality and meeting the needs of our growing customer base every day.”
The increase in production at the Covington plant comes as Bridgestone celebrates an important milestone in company history. The company says it recently completed manufacturing its 50 millionth dozen of golf balls. Since 1990, when Bridgestone began production of its golf balls in the U.S. under the Precept brand name, the company has produced more than 600 million golf balls at its Covington facility.
