Bridgestone/Firestone announced a series of changes to its corporate structure effective the first of the month.

According to a written statement, the reorganized company will continue its operations in the Americas under John Lampe, who will serve as CEO, chairman and President of Bridgestone/Firestone Americas Holding Inc. BFAH is a holding company that is the parent of several new companies that are responsible for the operations of the former BFS. The holding company is one element of the realignment of divisional companies previously doing business under the BFS umbrella.
The reorganized entity consists of the holding company, BFAH, and several operating subsidiaries, including:

• Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire LLC. The successor to BFS, BFNT will conduct the North American tire manufacturing and wholesale and original equipment sales operations, including the consumer, commercial truck and bus, agricultural, and off-the-road businesses. Product development and research related to these businesses will also be conducted by BFNT. Lampe will serve as CEO and chairman and Isao Togashi will serve as vice chairman and president of the entity, which has headquarters in Nashville.

• BFS Retail & Commercial Operations LLC. The company will consist of the Bridgestone/Firestone family of company-owned consumer and commercial store chains in the United States and Canada, including Firestone Tire & Service Centers, TiresPlus, and GCR as well as the company's credit card operations. Larry Magee is the CEO, chairman and president of BFRC, which has headquarters in Bloomingdale, Ill.

• BFS Diversified Products LLC. This company will include the Bridgestone/Firestone non-tire operations in the Americas including the building products, industrial products, synthetic and natural rubber, and textile businesses. BFDP has headquarters in Carmel, Ind., and its CEO, Chairman and President is Robert McNally.

• Bridgestone Metalpha USA Inc. Originally a sister company to BFS, BMU manufactures the steel cord used in tires. With headquarters in Clarksville, Tenn., BMU's President is Tora Toraiwa.

The Latin American subsidiaries of the former BFS will be owned directly by BFAH. For operations purposes, these subsidiaries will report to the holding company through a division of BFAH known as Bridgestone/Firestone Latin America.
According to the company, the massive reogranization caps months of work to develop and implement a plan to accomplish the twin goals of securing more cost-effective long term financing and designing a corporate structure that focuses on core business operations.