Nokian Tyres
Nokian Tyres is introducing a new Hakkapeliitta winter tyre. Called the Hakkapeliitta 7, the studded tyre has been developed for demanding and quickly changing winter conditions. Nokian says the tyre, which replaces the Hakkapeliitta 5, combines its winter properties with driving comfort. Driving comfort was chosen as an essential target for improvement, the Finnish manufacturer adds, and has been enhanced without compromising levels of grip.
Nokian Tyres reports that its fourth quarter sales have been “weaker than expected” and the company’s operating profit will be lower than the set target. The company says it will not reach its previously communicated sales target for 2008 of 1,150-1,200 million euros. This downward revised estimate comes in spite of an anticipated five per cent growth in group net sales during 2008, and operating profit that is estimated to be on the previous year’s level.
Nokian Tyres has today begun new statutory negotiations in order to adjust operations and to cut personnel by approximately 450 people at its Nokia factory in Finland, due to the decreased demand for tyres. The agenda of the negotiations includes a plan to change the working model of the car tyre production from the current continuous three-shift/seven days work to the discontinued three-shift/five days operations and to re-organise operations. This would result in the annual production capacity at the Nokia factory to fall from the current 6 million or so tyres to around 4.5 million tyres in 2009.
The discontinued three-shift work and the re-organisation measures would create a need to cut personnel by some 450 people, of which approximately 100 would be white-collar personnel. The aim is to carry out part of the personnel cuts by pension arrangements and other voluntary solutions.
The new factory working model and re-organisations would reduce Nokian Tyres’ costs in Nokia by around 30 million euros.
Across many industries, including our own, 2008 will be long remembered for its spate of raw material price increases and their knock-on effect. Although these prices had by mid-November retreated from their earlier record highs, across the board they left eroded profits in their wake – and consumers smarting from the increases tyre manufacturers in turn slapped upon their products.
The statutory negotiations concerning the lay-offs of the Nokian Tyres employees at the Nokia factory in Finland ended on the 19th November, 2008. The company decided after the negotiations to lay off its personnel for 10 days and the majority of the employees will be laid off between 21.12.2008 and 11.1.2009.
Hankook Tire reports that it has been officially nominated concordantly as a corporate member by the Board of Directors of the European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA), representing the interests of the European tyre and rubber goods industry. The company will become an official direct member of ETRMA as of 1 January 2009. Currently, ETRMA has 11 tyre corporate – direct members; Hankook Tire will be the 12th.
The ETRMA has confirmed that, last year, the European recovery rate for end of life tyres exceeded 91 per cent, a rate more than 4 per cent higher than the previous year. This positive trend means that Europe is now one of the most advanced regions in the world in the recycling and recovery of tyres, ahead of, for example, Japan, which has a recovery rate of 89 per cent and Canada, at 80 per cent. And while the UK recovery rate, at 95 per cent, is above the European average, it still lags behind the 11 European countries that have achieved a recovery rate of 100 per cent.
In Finland, Nokian Tyres is blaming the global financial crisis for the need to adjust production and improve productivity at its factory in the city of Nokia. Possible adjustment measures, says the tyremaker, include lay-offs of approximately 1,000 employees working at the factory December 21 to January 11.
Despite announcing the need to idle workers at its Finland factory to adjust production, the latest financial figures for Nokian Tyres shows a company doing well in 2008. Results for the quarter ending September 30 show net sales, operating profit and net profit have increased both during the three-month period and during 2008 as a whole.
Finland’s Nokian Tyres has acquired two retail locations from Monro Muffler Brake, and plans to convert them to its Vianor retail tyre outlets. The new Nokian properties are located in Brattleboro, Vt., and Keene, N.H. The two new locations gives Nokian 12 Vianor stores in the U.S. Nokian has some 470 Vianor stores in Europe. (Tire Review/Akron)
Nokian Tyres has received an announcement, according to which the ownership of Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company has increased above the level of five per cent of the voting rights and share capital in Nokian Tyres plc as a result of a share transaction concluded on the 16th October 2008. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company now holds a total of 6,870,657 Nokian Tyres’ shares, representing 5.50 per cent of the company’s 124,831,190 shares and voting rights.
Nokian’s product range has grown with the addition of the Nokian HT SUV, a summer tyre intended for urban use 4×4 vehicles. The HT SUV is, says the manufacturer, most at home on asphalt roads, however it is said to also function excellently off on “twisty small roads” and “tracks that are covered in sand and gravel and difficult to drive on.” The T and H speed rated range will be available in a wide range of sizes covering all popular 4x4s sold in Europe, with sales starting in the spring of 2009.
Nokian Tyres Inc. (U.S.), Dorsey Tire Co., based in Savannah, Ga.; and Malaysia’s Platinum 1 International are the newest members of TRIB.
“We are very happy to welcome these companies to the TRIB family and we know they will enjoy the many benefits TRIB offers to its members worldwide,” said Harvey Brodsky, TRIB’s managing director. (Tire Review/Akron)
The newest addition to the Nokian range of summer tyres is the Z G2; a W and Y speed rated uhp tyre, designed for sporty cars and fast driving. It is available in a number of sizes, for wheels from 16″ to 20″ diameter. The Nokian Z G2 has been developed and tested on fast European tracks, as well as on rough-surfaced roads, over several years. Special attention was paid to wet grip and the prevention of aquaplaning. Wear resistance was developed by means of thorough laboratory testing and driving hard durability tests on harsh asphalt surfaces. The tyre is targeted at demanding consumers, and its top-of-the-range performance has been achieved with the help of the latest development and production technology.
Nokian Tyres is reportedly partnering with Immo Industry Group and Aladdin Group to develop its distribution operation in Ukraine. The move forms part of Nokian’s plan to “rapidly” increase its presence in the Ukraine through its Vianor retail chain this year. The location suggested by Immo Industry Group and Aladdin group is called the IIG-Aladdin Group Industrial Park Kiev V and is said to cover 11,500 square metres.
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