Europe, America or Asia – Nokian evaluating sites for a new tyre plant

Nokian Tyres already operates 13 production lines within its facilities in Russia and only has space to install one more. Company CEO Ari Lehtoranta says arrangements have been made to implement this extra line, and looking further ahead the company is “preparing plans” for its next factory. During a conference call on 8 May, he outlined the options the tyre maker was considering for this additional plant as well as the timetable for the related decision process.

Commenting that a quarter of Nokian Tyres’ Q1 2015 growth was generated in Central Europe, Lehtoranta noted that the company was considering a location “somewhere in Eastern Europe” from where it could support this Central European upswing. Yet this isn’t the only region of interest to Nokian: Lehtoranta also indicated that if “our growth in North America is sustainable” it “might make sense” to set up Nokian’s next tyre plant in that region. A third possibility, and one that may be considered an outsider at this point, is a site somewhere in Asia. Lehtoranta commented that Asia is a “standard consideration for the location for most of the industry nowadays,” and Nokian Tyres will thus weigh up the pros and cons associated with that part of the world.

According to the CEO, a decision on the location for Nokian Tyres’ next factory will be taken “sometime in the first half of 2016.”