Nokian Tyres
Nokian Tyres is looking forward to growing it’s customer base in North America “thanks to the strides it made” in 2019, a year during which it set up a new facility in Dayton, Tennessee and built up its workforce in North America.
Bridgestone Corporation has significantly reduced its shareholding in Nokian Tyres. In a stock exchange release, the Finnish tyre maker reports that, as of 12 December 2019, Bridgestone’s shareholding has decreased from 9.96 per cent to 3.0 per cent. Bridgestone now holds 4,167,653 shares in Nokian Tyres.
Nokian Tyres is changing its tyre bags to more environmentally friendly ones. Producing bags partially from biomaterial reduces carbon dioxide emissions by up to 75 per cent compared to making bags from virgin or recycled plastic.
Upon concluding negotiations with employee representatives today, Nokian Tyres has announced it will make 41 workers at its plant in Nokia, Finland redundant. The tyre maker adds that 11 of these redundancies will take the form of retirement or “other agreed arrangements”. It is also still evaluating the possibility of relocating employees within the group, a measure that may decrease the total number of job reductions.
Just over two years after groundbreaking, Nokian Tyres officially opened its new North American production facility. A ceremony was held at the Dayton, Tennessee plant on 2 October to mark the start of operations. The facility is currently engaged in trial production and is expected to be ready to make tyres for commercial use in early 2020.
The latest Nokian forestry tyre is on its way, and Nokian Tyres says it offers “true next generation features for six-wheel forestry machinery”. The Nokian Forest King TRS 2+ will be available from the end of 2019 in sizes 600/65-34, 710/55-34 and 710/70-34. Furthermore, Nokian Tyres has added new sizes to its Forest King F2 and Forest King TRS lines.
Brexit is perhaps just over a month away, and while many companies face an uncertain future, Nokian Tyres is in the happy position of being relatively unconcerned about the UK rescinding its European Union membership. That’s just as well, as the Finnish tyre maker has other things to worry about.
Two new sizes have been added to the Nokian Mine King range, extending the the E-4 underground mining tyre’s suitability to an even wider range of vehicles. The launch of the 14.00-24 size in August has been followed by the introduction of a size 12.00-20 tyre this month. The Nokian Mine King E-4 was initially launched in 14.00-20,
A concept tyre displayed at Nokian Tyres’ stand at Agritechnica 2017 will return to this year’s show – in an evolved form – as a new range aimed at tractor and machine contractors who seek a product that offers a combination of “on-road endurance, traction and grip on a soft terrain and a high load-bearing capacity.”
Drivers of SUVs and crossovers will soon be able to fit their vehicles with tyres based upon the 2018-launched Nokian Powerproof and Wetproof ranges. Nokian Tyres says it developed the Powerproof SUV and Wetproof SUV to meet a “growing demand for premium SUV tyres”. Both products will be available from spring 2020.
Nokian Tyres is responding to what it calls the “weak development of the European car and tyre market” with plans to reduce employee numbers at its Nokia production facility in Finland. It appears Nokian Tyres is looking to lay off approximately 50 workers and additionally dismiss an unspecified number on a temporary basis.
Nokian Tyres says it has taken the first step towards digital, real-time tyre management with the launch of Nokian Tyres Intuitu. This new digital monitoring system combines sensor-equipped tyres with a mobile application that records the sensor data, keeping the user informed about vital tyre pressure and temperature. Intuitu will initially be available for agricultural and contracting tyres, however Nokian Tyres intends to extend the system to its entire commercial tyre range.
Eight new sizes have joined the 2014-launched Nokian Hakkapeliitta TRI range, extending the portfolio to 20 sizes. The new sizes provide compatibility with a greater range of tractors, backhoe loaders and compact machinery such as compact loaders.
Nokian Tyres has once again signed up as main sponsor of the World Orienteering Championships, which begins in Norway today. This is the fourth consecutive year that Nokian has partnered with the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) for the event.
Two further sizes have joined the Nokian HTS G2 E-4 range of cross-ply tyres for empty container handlers and forklifts. The addition of the new sizes 14.00-24 and 16.00-25 doubles the number of available sizes. All dimensions are available in two versions – the slick Nokian HTS G2 L-4S and the Nokian HTS G2 E-4, which features a chamfered pattern blocks for easy turning.
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