From Tire Review
Nokian Tyres will create 75 new jobs at its Dayton, Tennessee factory in 2023, as the company aims to double tire capacity. The company celebrated the start of the capacity expansion, which also includes an on-site storage warehouse, at an event Wednesday with state, local and company officials.
The expansion and warehouse are in line with Nokian Tyres’ originally announced investment, which called for the facility to reach full capacity of as many as four million tires. The total value of the 75 new jobs and the originally planned capacity expansion and warehouse is approximately $174 million, Nokian says.
When Nokian Tyres opened its North American factory in 2019, it committed to bringing 400 jobs to Rhea County. As the company adds positions and equipment this year in pursuit of full capacity, it is partnering with the state and community to raise the total number of employees to 475.
“As demand for our tires grows in the United States and Canada, our expanded Dayton Factory will supply customers with a rising number of safe, sustainable all-season and all-weather products,” said Tommi Heinonen, Nokian Tyres’ vice president of sales. “We are happy to see the factory provide more jobs for North American workers and more tires for North American drivers.”
Nokian said the construction of a 600,000-tire warehouse connected to the Dayton Factory will join the company’s nine-warehouse network throughout the U.S. and Canada and will serve the growing volume of customers in the Sun Belt. The company plans to bring the warehouse online by mid-2024.
“We strive to be an employer of choice in Southeast Tennessee, and that has been our focus since day one of our operations,” said David Korda, Dayton factory operations director. “As we grow, we’re excited about providing fulfilling opportunities for professional growth that will also help our factory and company grow.”
Nokian said the factory set production records with existing equipment in 2022, and the company has begun installing additional infrastructure inside the factory to meet its goal of producing up to four million tires per year – a milestone it plans to reach in 2024. The company makes all-season and all-weather tires at the facility, which is the epicenter of its growth plan in North America, Nokian said. The expansion will enable Nokian Tyres to add light truck tires to the Dayton Factory’s product mix in 2023.
“Nokian Tyres is such a great fit for this community, and we’re excited to be a part of their journey,” said Rhea County Executive Jim Vincent. “This expansion proves that Nokian Tyres is deeply invested in this community, and we are pleased to have them as part of our Rhea County family.”
The Dayton Factory’s production building possesses LEED v4 Silver certification and its LEED v4 Gold-certified administration building is fully powered by energy generated from onsite solar panels.
