Firestone moves to Netherlands facility

Feb. 1, 2009
Firestone Industrial Products Europe BV has moved to its new state-of-the-art European Business and Technical Center in Arnhem, The Netherlands. This

Firestone Industrial Products Europe BV has moved to its new state-of-the-art European Business and Technical Center in Arnhem, The Netherlands.

This facility is strategically based near the company's manufacturing and warehousing facilities, enabling faster service to European air spring customers. The new facility is home to the engineering, design, and testing team for Europe, as well as Firestone's European business operations, including marketing, sales, distribution, and business support functions.

Leading the Arnhem facility is Dan Leonard, managing director of Firestone Industrial Products Europe BV. Leonard, who transferred to Arnhem from the United States, has more than 30 years of experience with Firestone in the air springs industry.

The full-service technical center will be capable of conducting characteristics lab testing of air springs to determine spring rate, load-carrying capacity, and fatigue testing to determine longevity of air springs. Additionally, the engineering department is equipped with design technology for producing innovative products for the European automotive market.

The technical center will be fully operational during the second quarter of 2009.