Nokian opens factory in the US

[Dave T]

https://www.nokiantires.com/daytonfactory/updates/

https://www.nokiantires.com/daytonfactory/

Years ago, I bought a nice set of Hakkapellitta H10 studded snow tires that were made in Finland. They were the best! I bought them, mounted on steel wheels, earlier in the year by mail order from a tire shop in Hubertus, WI, northwest of Milwaukee. (I wonder if they are still around?).

Nokians are more expensive than many tires but are well respected. Later, they opened a plant in Russia, eventually making the majority of their tires there, more than the one Finnish plant.

Who wants to buy a tire made in Russia? I don't even if there are high technical standards and supervision from Nokian staff trained in Finland.

This spring, Nokian opened their 3rd tire plant. It's in Dayton, Tennessee, south east of their US headquarters in Nashville. Production began March 6, 2020 though a test tire was made on July 11, 2019.

I predict that my current winter tires, Michelin X-Ice Xi3, will have 2 more seasons left and that I'll be in the market for new winter tires in late 2022. It could very well be Nokians!

[NordWulf]

Russia and Eastern Europe are the same for Western Europe as Mexico is for the USA and Canada. While it shouldn't really matter where a car is made, I would never buy a Volkswagen made in Mexico or a Volvo that is made in China.

I am not familiar with manufacturing standards in Russia and not sure if it matters for the tires. On the other hand, I wouldn't buy tires that are made in China.

I never had Nokian tires before but they usually come out ahead in tire reviews. But they often are more expensive and you get what you pay for. Perhaps manufacturing in the USA will allow them to lower prices and become a more affordable alternative. But I doubt the average American consumer has heard of this brand before.

[jonnyb433]

Howdy. Have never run Nokians but know from others who have that they're good tires. Regarding the USA plant in Tennessee, from what I've read it seems they're focusing production on the light truck and all season (e.g. Entyre 2.0) tires for the north american market. I haven't seen anything definitive on which tires they plan on producing at Dayton, but I would not be surprised if they kept manufacture of the winter tires in Europe/Russia.