Nokian Tyres Completes Ramp-Up at Tennessee Facility

Nokian Tyres Inc. marked the completion of the five-year ramp-up process at its production facility in Southeast Tennessee.  

The 350,000-square-foot warehouses can hold hundreds of thousands of tires produced at the Dayton, Tenn., factory, which first opened in October 2019 and began commercial production the following January. It expanded operations in 2020 and added light-truck capabilities and increased capacity.  

The tiremaker ships tires from the finished goods warehouse in Dayton to its nine-warehouse network across North America. The all-season and all-weather tires are made in the Dayton factory and exclusively distributed to North American customers.  

“The opening of our finished goods warehouse marks the completion of a five-year growth process that took us from a 60-member launch team to a 500-colleague workforce,” says David Korda, Dayton factory operations director for Nokian.  

“We could not have reached this point without great dedication from our employees, and we are also grateful for the support we have received from the community, our customers and our colleagues around the globe.”  

The factory possesses ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 certifications for its quality, sustainability and safety. 

The expansion of the warehouse has grown the Nokian Tyre team to 500 employees. 

“Nokian Tyres has made North America a priority, and the Dayton Factory is the center of those efforts,” says Lauri Halme, vice president of passenger car tires for Nokian.  

“Our growth in Southeast Tennessee allows us to serve growing demand for our all-season and all-weather tires in the United States and Canada, which complements our decades-long legacy of winter tire leadership.”  

Later this year, Nokian Tyres will open a Central European production facility in Oradea, Romania, which will join Dayton and Nokia, Finland in its global production network, according to Nokian officials.