Nokian Heavy Tyres now has a second partner in the UK. RH Claydon Ltd. is distributing Nokian forestry and agricultural tyres from its warehouses after entering into an agreement with the tyre maker. RH Claydon reports that it now stocks these products in most popular tread patterns and sizes, with next-day availability in certain locations.
In spite of a steep year-on-year drop in operating profit during Q2 2023, Nokian Tyres believes it has made significant progress towards rebuilding the company following the decision to cut its ties with Russia. It expects a stronger second half to 2023 due to winter and all-season tyre sales and the contribution made by contract manufacturing.
On 13 June, Qingdao-based tyre manufacturer Sentury announced that it had supplied products to Nokian Tyres in the first quarter of 2023. Writing in a stock exchange filing, Sentury representatives specified that the company has delivered Nokian-branded winter tyres. Sentury said that “the supply will continue in the second quarter” and the current cooperation with Nokian is “good”.
Announcing the arrival of a new size 9.00-20 tyre, Nokian Tyres states that its Armor Gard 2 Mine “provides exceptional cut resistance, superb handling, and a prolonged service life,” making it an “ideal choice for drill rigs operating in demanding mining environments.” The 9.00-20 tyre joins a 10.00-20 size product in the range.
Nokian Heavy Tyres Ltd. has completed negotiations regarding plans to lower production at its factory in Nokia, Finland. As the tyre maker previously announced, temporary layoffs will affect approximately 160 people.
Nokian Tyres is taking part in a research project that aims to improve the quality and yield of recycled carbon black from end-of-life tyres, with the goal of using this material more extensively in tyre and rubber products. The two-year development project is coordinated by Windspace Group A/S and co-financed by government initiative the Danish Eco-Innovation Program.
The terms of the license agreement signed when the Nokian Tyres operation in Russia changed hands compel the new owner to cease using all trademarks and names belonging to the Finnish tyre maker, except Nordman. The Tatneft-owned business has thus rebranded from Nokian to Ikon Tyres.
Nokian Tyres has presented its first quarterly results since the company sold its Russian operations to Tatneft its resultant production gap. In short, first quarter 2023 net sales were 236.4 million euros down 26.8 per cent compare with 322.9 million euros during the same period last year. That meant an operating loss of 18.8 million euros compared with 21.5 million euros of operating profit in the first quarter of 2022.
Nokian Tyres’s well-publicised exit from Russia has left it with a similarly well-reported production gap that continues to impact the company’s ongoing business. Speaking as part of the company’s first quarter 2023 results presentation, Nokian Tyres executives emphasised that “new capacity is our #1 priority” and shared further details of how they are planning to fill the firm’s production gap. We already knew that Nokian plans to expand its existing factories in Nokia, Finland and Dayton, USA as well as build a new factory in Romania and make off-take contracts with third-party manufacturers, what’s new is the detail and time frames associated with “building the new Nokian Tyres”.
Bahri Kurter, who was Nokian Tyres’ executive vice-president Central Europe until leaving to “pursue his career” outside the company last year, is the new chief executive officer at toy manufacturer Playmobil. He commenced in this role in March 2023.
While tyre retail sales volumes in Russia reportedly declined 16% year-on-year in Q1 2023, to 3.2 million units, sales value dropped 42%. The growing popularity of lower-priced tyres partially explains this larger decrease in turnover, and imports from China and Korea rose significantly. An expert from one association nonetheless still recommends European tyres, even though they’re hard to find and expensive.
In a stock exchange release published this morning, Nokian Tyres plc confirms it has completed the sale of its operations in Russia to vertically integrated oil and gas company PJSC Tatneft after finishing local registration formalities. The Finnish company has “now ended all its operations in Russia,” but this doesn’t mean that the Nokian name will immediately disappear from this market.
Visit NokianTyres.ru today and you will be greeted with the following message: “All Nokian Tyres operations in Russia have ended. For guarantee services and other product information please visit www.vsevtyres.ru.” Browse over to vsevtyres.ru and you will find a page that looks identical to the former Nokian Tyres site. This development follows the sale of Nokian Tyres’s Russian operations to Tatneft and the rebranding of Nokian Tyres’s Vianor tyre retail business as Ivanor in Russia. So who is selling Nokian brand tyres in Russia and Russia-speaking markets? Is it Nokian Tyres or Tatneft?
Nokian Tyres has begun construction work on a finished goods warehouse at the Dayton, Tennessee production site where it is currently doubling production capacity for all-season and all-weather tyres and adding light truck tyres to the product mix. The warehouse will hold as many as 600,000 tyres and should be ready for use by mid-2024.
With the careful rearrangement of a couple of letters, the Vianor tyre retail network gains a new identity in Russia. Nokian Tyres reports that Russia’s largest network of tyre centres will henceforth operate under the name Ivanor. The new name accompanies a change of ownership, with Tatneft acquiring a 100% stake in Nokian’s Russian business. Rights to the Vianor and N-Tyre trademarks remain with Nokian Tyres.
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