The Finland-based Nokian Tyre Co. opened its tire production plant in Dayton, Tennessee, in 2019 to better serve its growing North American market, where Nokian replacement tires have been gaining market share for more than a decade with even more growth expected as the company expands into more light truck tires for the American market.
The $360 million factory in Rhea County now has more than 350 employees and is projected to make about 1.5 million tires this year, up from about 1 million tires made at the Dayton plant last year, company officials said.
Nokian Tyre North American Sales Vice President Tommi Heinonen said he hopes the Dayton plant can boost production to make even more tires in the future, both to meet the growing U.S. market and to replace some of the tire exports Nokian is losing this year from its Russian plant.
“We need to grow our production here,” Heinonen said during an interview this week with the Times Free Press in Chattanooga. “The Dayton plant is up and running on schedule, and it is our hope is that we can make even more tires there because the demand is certainly there.”