Nokian Tires North America, which bills itself as “a specialist in winter tires,” is embarking upon a blizzard of activity with a pending move to New England to better serve the snow tire market.
The shift from LaVergne, Tenn. to Colchester, Vt. is expected to be finalized by next spring.
“We are real experts in winter tires and northern conditions worldwide,” says Jari Lepisto, president of the Finland-based company’s U.S. subsidiary. “In Vermont, we are near our key customers and can serve the area even better,” he points out.
Nokian’s distribution operation, University Wholesalers Inc., is based in Colchester, plus the Finnish firm owns Vianor, Inc., a 12-store retail tire chain in New England.
Lepisto says the company “is a forerunner in developing tires for extreme northern conditions and offers the widest range of winter tires in the world.” In addition to its American presence and Finnish headquarters, Nokian Tyre also has operations in nations such as Russia, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, the Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
In 2008, Nokian Tyres plc booked net sales of 1.080 billion Euros (USD 1.550 billion) and employed more than 3,800 people. Nokian Tyres has its own sales companies in the USA, Russia, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
For more information, visit www.nokiantires.com.
