Nokian has produced its first test tyre at its factory in Dayton, Tennessee, which has benefited from an injection of US$360m.
The first tyre, a Nokian eNTYRE 2.0 marks the start of trial production, as the supplier remains on schedule to start manufacturing products for commercial sale in the early part of next year.
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The Dayton Factory will serve as a catalyst for Nokian Tyres’ growth strategy in North America, with the company aiming to double sales in the region by 2023.
“The first tyre milestone is significant for our production team, our employees throughout North America and our team around the globe,” said Nokian Tyres SVP, Mark Earl.
Between now and the end of the year, Nokian will produce thousands more tyres for testing and machine calibration purposes. Annual capacity at the factory will be 4m in 2023, with further expansion potential.
The company currently employs around 70 team members, with approximately 400 people at the factory once capacity reaches 4m tyres.
The factory’s production team recently returned home from an intensive six-week training experience at Nokian Tyres’ other factories in Russia and Finland.
