A major investment at Nokian Tyres plc's Dayton, Tenn., plant will enable the company to build light truck tires there later this year. Tommi Heinonen, Nokian's vice president, PCT, North America, discusses Nokian's light truck tire plans in the U.S.
MTD: Why has Nokian decided to build light truck tires at its plant in Tennessee?
Heinonen: Making select light truck tires in Dayton allows us to meet the demands of American drivers, with whom this segment is more popular than in Europe. Thus, it's another opportunity to tailor the products made in North America to the needs of drivers here in the region.
MTD: Where are Nokian's light truck tires sold in the U.S. and Canada built today?
Heinonen: Today our light-truck tires are produced at our Nokia, Finland, factory. We will continue to make winter LT tires in Nokia, while the Dayton factory will phase in various SKUs of all-season and all-terrain light-truck tires.
MTD: What percent of Nokian's overall U.S. sales do light truck tires currently account for?
Heinonen: The Nokian Tyres Outpost Family and One HT have been strong additions to our product portfolio, but we cannot provide a specific sales breakdown.
"We are producing select SKUs of our light-truck tires in Dayton this year and we will phase in more sizes and models as capacity continues to grow," adds Heinonen.
Nokian recently announced that it plans to invest $174 million in its U.S. plant, as well as in the construction of a new distribution center there.
