Finland’s Nokian Tyres has opened a new finished goods warehouse in Dayton, Tennessee, marking the completion of a ramp-up process at the company’s US production facility.
Nokian Tyres began tyre production at the US factory in 2020 and has since expanded its operations by increasing production capacity, growing the team to approximately 500 employees, and enhancing capabilities to produce North American-specific all-season and all-weather car tyres. This year, production has been expanded to include light truck tyres.
“Nokian Tyres is pursuing growth in North America, and the Dayton factory is the centre of those efforts,” said Nokian Tyres Vice President of Passenger Car Tyres Lauri Halme. “It allows us to serve growing demand for our all-season and all-weather tyres in the United States and Canada, which complements our decades-long legacy of winter tyre leadership.”
The finished goods warehouse, located adjacent to the US factory and spanning 32,500 sq m, was inaugurated recently. The warehouse can hold hundreds of thousands of tyres. Tyres are shipped from the finished goods warehouse to Nokian Tyres’ nine-warehouse network across North America, from which the company serves dealers in the US and Canada.
“The opening of our finished goods warehouse marks the completion of a growth process that took us from a 60-member launch team to a 500-colleague workforce,” said Nokian Tyres Dayton Factory Operations Director David Korda. “We could not have reached this point without great dedication from our employees, and we are also grateful for the support we have received from the community, our customers and our colleagues around the globe.”
Nokian Tyres’ US factory is the first LEED v4 Silver-certified tyre production building in the world as a proof of its low emissions and high energy efficiency. The factory is partially powered by solar energy, and onsite solar panels provide three megawatt-hours of energy every year.
Later this year, Nokian Tyres will open a new production facility in Romania. It is said to be the world’s first zero CO2 emission tyre factory. Nokian Tyres’ modern and efficient manufacturing platform, that also includes a production facility in Finland, helps meet the customer needs and supports the company’s growth, it adds.