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.
Shares in the world’s most profitable publicly traded tyre manufacturer (according to Bloomberg), Nokian Renkaat Oyj, have experienced a sharp decline alongside most Russian stocks following the descent of the ruble in recent days. The company currently enjoys a 30 per cent share of Russia’s premium replacement market, though overtures from Bridgestone and Pirelli – who have earmarked 250 million euros for a joint venture in the country with Russian Technologies – sound out a threat to the stability of that figure.
Mika Leskinen, a fund manager at Pohjola Asset Management of Helsinki stated that “competition is set to intensify” and that reasons for the stock’s fall included a massive 37 per cent rise throughout May and the recent Russian military intervention in Georgia. He suggests that analysts recommending the stock and raising earnings estimates had been a little “too optimistic”. Bloomberg’s straw pole of 15 banks however suggests that analysts are still happy to get behind the stock, with only London-based Merrill Lynch analysts suggesting their sale.
New sizes have been added to the Nokian TRI 2 range of green area and grassland farming tyres. The block-patterned Nokian TRI 2, which the manufacturer designed to be a reliable partner for modern-day farmers and equipment contractors, offers grip and a high load-bearing capacity. The new low-profile sizes are in the 65 series range and intended for conditions that call for a wide contact area from the tyre. Typical uses include, for example, green area maintenance and transport related to grassland farming.
The Nokian Forest Rider, designed for CTL (cut-to-length) forestry machines, is said to be the first functional radial tyre for professional forestry use. The size range for the tyre, which Nokian reports has won over users with its driving comfort, durability and supreme traction, is now expanding. The newly available 24.5-inch rim size offers increased mobility and load-bearing capacity to smaller forestry machines. This larger size will also enable smaller machines to bear increasingly substantial loads and efficiently tackle demanding harvesting jobs. This latest Nokian Forest Rider rim size has a width of 650 mm.
During a lifetime’s experience in the tyre trade, Mike Mansfield has created a dynamic family company that has established an outstanding reputation as a successful niche market tyre and specialised tube wholesaler.
Soopa Toobs (Tyres) Limited was founded in May 1983 and is still based at its original home in Colliers End, near Ware in Hertfordshire. “In conversation with Tyres & Accessories, Mike Mansfield said, “the business began, with some assistance from a sympathetic bank manager and the unwavering support of my very understanding wife, Tricia. After consulting with a number of tyre industry luminaries, and based upon some market research, the decision was taken to opt for the tube market.
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.
Finland’s Nokian Tyres is one of 37 candidates competing for the Nordic Council’s Nature and Environment Prize 2008. The regional environmental prize is contested by companies throughout the region, and this year sees entries from Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and the hard-to-spot-in-the-atlas autonomous island of Åland
The theme for this year’s Nature and Environment Prize is lower energy consumption with better tools. The prize will be awarded to a Nordic product, invention or service that helps to reduce people’s energy consumption. To be eligible, a product, invention or service must be potentially applicable to all of the Nordic countries and make a significant impact. It can be anything from a single object to a major system.
Nokian Tyres has taken on an RFID-based “manufacturing execution system” for use in its tyre production process. The solution reportedly the first and largest deployment of the UHF RFID based system in Finland. A total of 40 RFID readers and some 1000 RFID tags were deployed at Nokian Tyres during this project.
According to the company, the new system is used to plan, track and control the tread component production at the Nokian Tyres production plant located in Nokia. Additionally, Nokian Tyres is now able to monitor their production in real-time and ensure the availability of tyre materials.
The Nokian-owned Vianor tyre retail chain has continued its international expansion following the opening of a new branch in Kazakhstan two weeks ago. This time the Finnish based company has taken steps to increase its presence in North America (specifically New Hampshire, USA). Nokian Tyres has made a partner agreement with Vianor-Concord operated by South East Ventures LLC and given them the right to use the Vianor brand. According to company representatives, Nokian Tyres does not officially own Concord, in contradiction with some local news reports. Instead, the agreement sees Concord Tire and Auto Service, an independent company for 27 years, effectively licensed and rebranded as a Vianor outlet. There are now 6 Vianor outlets in the US.
Dekk Partner claims to be the largest group of tyre dealers in Norway, Sweden and Finland, with an anticipated turnover this year in excess of 320 million euros. The group is still expanding and the latest deal is that the Dekk 1 group, in the western part of Norway, has joined Dekk Partner from 1st February.
After six years in Sweden, Dekk Partner is on the same level as the largest chain in that country, plus the group is also working very hard on expanding in Finland. Each year Dekk Partner holds a membership meeting and this year’s event will be held in the Latvian capital Riga, where it is expected that more than 500 guests will attend.
At least 5 per cent of Nokian’s Ordabasy-Nokian Tyres Kazakhstan joint venture tyre production plant will be exported. According to the Ordabasy Corporation manager in charge of joint venture projects, Adilkhan Umerbayev, some of this 5 per cent will be exported to EU countries. The joint venture will see a 4 million unit capacity passenger car tyre plant constructed in the Central Asian state by 2009, the Ordabasy executive explained in a report published by the Reuters news agency.
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