Nokian increasing Finland tyre production 30%
Nokian Tyres is increasing production capacity for passenger car tyres at its Nokia, Finland factory by approximately 30 per cent.
Nokian Tyres is increasing production capacity for passenger car tyres at its Nokia, Finland factory by approximately 30 per cent.
A groundbreaking ceremony held today marked the start of construction work on a new testing and technology centre being set up by Nokian Tyres in Spain. Festivities to celebrate the occasion were held at the site in Santa Cruz de la Zarza. Nokian Tyres anticipates the completion of the first test tracks next year ahead of the technology centre attaining full operational status in 2020.
Worn tyres find use in many applications – they may serve as playground swings or as fenders on a wharf. They’re often invisible in plain sight, however Nokian Tyres intends to take advantage of their ubiquity. The tyre maker has placed tyre safety information on repurposed old tyres all around its home market of Finland.
The SnapSkan digital tread service, deployed by tyre manufacturer Nokian Tyres in cooperation with its tyre retail and car service chain Vianor, is launching five new checking points in the Nordic countries. A total of four new SnapSkan service points will be opened in parking garages in various locations across Finland. SnapSkan is also going international with the opening of a new service point in Oslo, Norway. This is the first SnapSkan service point outside of Finland.
A decision has been made on the 89.2 million euros that Nokian Tyres was ordered to pay in additional taxes and punitive tax increases for the 2007 to 2010 tax years. Finland’s Administrative Court has entirely overturned the tax reassessment decisions made by the country’s Board of Adjustment and has additionally ordered the Tax Administration to pay Nokian Tyres 40,000 euros in legal costs.
Although held back by exchange rate effects, net sales at Nokian Tyres were higher in the first three months of 2018 than a year earlier. Sales were up 3.1 per cent to 336.0 million euros; had the exchange rate effect been neutral, the tyre maker estimates that net sales would have increased 9.3 per cent year-on-year. Nevertheless, Hille Korhonen, president and chief executive officer of Nokian Tyres, referred to the result as “a good start of the year.”
With a new tyre aimed at urban excavation applications, Nokian Heavy Tyres says it is introducing a tyre “designed to start a new era of excavation work in city environments all over the world.” It adds that the Nokian Armor Gard 2 resolves the “key issues” of urban excavation – ensuring safety and stability even in the most demanding tasks and preventing tyres from wearing rapidly during long on-road transitions.
Consumers are increasingly likely to research their tyres online pre-purchase, regardless of whether they complete an e-commerce transaction. Peer review website Tyre Reviews has therefore become an influential destination in the car tyre market: discussing Tyre Reviews’s audience, owner, Jonathan Benson, states that 94 per cent of Tyre Reviews visitors are engaged in the tyre buying process, with its users predominantly “high earning, well educated, male automotive enthusiasts looking for the best possible product for their vehicle.” In 2017, the site delivered 25 million pageviews to tyre buyers, and claims to have influenced around “one-sixth of UK tyre sales.”
Van and campervan tyres can lead hard lives. The vehicles they are fitted to are often driven fully loaded on poor roads and gravel surfaces. The tyres must bear the entire weight of the vehicle and provide safe and stable handling under all conditions. To give these products more strength, Nokian Tyres is now introducing its Aramid Sidewall technology into all Nokian van and campervan product lines. From 1 January 2018, it is present in the Nokian WR C3, cLine Van, cLine Cargo and Weatherproof C ranges. Nokian SUV tyres have been manufactured with aramid sidewalls for several years now, and in addition to the abovementioned products the material can be found in 15 Nokian tyre lines.
Through an investment of around 70 million euros in its factory in Nokia, Finland, Nokian Tyres group company Nokian Heavy Tyres Ltd. will increase its production capacity by 50 per cent over the coming three years. The maximum capacity for heavy tyre production will grow from approximately 20 million kilogrammes a year to 32 million kilogrammes. Alongside this capacity boost, approximately 50 additional people will be hired for the production of heavy tyres.
Nokian Tyres continues as the title sponsor of the World Orienteering Championships. Following on the initial sponsorship with International Orienteering Federation’s (IOF) premium event in 2016 and 2017, a new multi-year contract has been signed.
Nokian Tyres plc has received a tax reassessment decision from Finland’s Tax Administration, according to which the Company is obliged to pay 59 million euros additional taxes with punitive tax increases relating to the 2011 tax year. Payment must be made in November 2017. 39 million euros of the figure relates to additional taxes and 20 million euros relates to punitive tax increases and interests.
Nokian Tyres has been selected for Dow Jones’ DJSI World sustainability index. With a total sustainability score nearly twice as high as the industry average, Nokian Tyres significantly improved its results in the 2017 assessment. Nokian Tyres’ score of 78 points was only one point behind the industry’s best company globally.
Nokian Tyres marked the beginning of building work on the company’s third factory on 20 September. The new greenfield site is located in Dayton (Rhea County), Tennessee, USA. Annual capacity will be 4 million tyres, with expansion potential in the future. The site will also house a distribution facility with a storage capacity of 600,000 tyres. Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2018 and the first tyres are to be produced in 2020.
The Finnish District Court of Pirkanmaa has sentenced 10 former Nokian Tyres employees who transferred to the Black Donuts Engineering group of companies for “the violation and abuse of Nokian Tyres’ business secrets”. According to Nokian, the District Court convicted all the defendants. Eight defendants were sentenced to conditional imprisonment of 6–18 months and two received fines. The managing director and two other executives from Black Donuts Engineering Oy were sentenced to business prohibitions of 3–5 years in addition to imprisonment.
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