Nokian Tyres will create 75 new jobs at its Dayton, Tennessee factory in 2023, as the company aims to double tire capacity at the award-winning facility.
The company celebrated the start of the capacity expansion, which also includes an on-site storage warehouse, at an event on Wednesday with state, local and company officials.
The expansion and warehouse are in line with Nokian Tyres’ originally announced investment, which called for the facility to reach full capacity of as many as four million tires. The total value of the 75 new jobs and the originally planned capacity expansion and warehouse is approximately $174 million.
“As demand for our tires grows in the United States and Canada, our expanded Dayton Factory will supply customers with a rising number of safe, sustainable all-season and all-weather products,” said Nokian Tyres Vice President of Sales Tommi Heinonen. “We are happy to see the factory provide more jobs for North American workers and more tires for North American drivers.”
“We strive to be an employer of choice in Southeast Tennessee, and that has been our focus since day one of our operations,” said Dayton Factory Operations Director David Korda. “As we grow, we’re excited about providing fulfilling opportunities for professional growth that will also help our factory and company grow.”
The company’s application portal is open, and hiring will begin this spring. Starting pay ranges from $17 to $21 per hour. Prospective employees are invited to apply at NokianTires.com/DaytonFactory.
Nokian Tyres also announced on Wednesday the construction of a 600,000-tire warehouse connected to the Dayton Factory in line with the original investment plan. The facility will join the company’s nine-warehouse network throughout the U.S. and Canada and will serve the growing volume of customers in the sun belt. The company plans to bring the warehouse online by mid-2024.
The factory set production records with existing equipment in 2022, and the company has begun installing additional infrastructure inside the factory to meet its goal of producing up to four million tires per year–a milestone it plans to reach in 2024. The company makes all-season and all-weather tires at the facility, which is the epicentre of its growth plan in North America. The expansion will enable Nokian Tyres to add light truck tires to the Dayton Factory’s product mix in 2023.
