Growing global demand has resulted in Nokian pursuing new products in the heavy work tyre segment.
The demand of premium tires for heavy work is in global growth and new bigger tires for bulkier machines are needed. To meet the demand, in 2019 Nokian Heavy Tyres will build a new research and development centre in Nokia, Finland. The modern R & D centre accelerates the testing phase of new tire models, maintaining the premium quality that Nokian Tyres has been known for 120 years.
The new R & D Centre will be approximately 3 500 square meters large (350,000 square feet), and is part of a substantial production capacity increase. A year ago, Nokian Heavy Tyres Ltd, part of the Nokian Tyres group, reacted to growing global demand of tires with an ongoing 3-year R & D and production investment of approximately EUR 70 million and 50% production capacity growth target.
The new facility is well on schedule. The first stage of production plant expansion is complete, and the second part will be ready in April 2019. In Summer 2019 they will start the installation of new machinery. In the new R & D centre, all indoor testing will be in the same facility and close to production lines which are all located in Nokia. This makes operation optimally efficient. The centre will be filled with modern machinery and Nokian can triple the number of tires tested and test more variables to serve their OEM clients with the highest standards.
The new modern testing machinery of the R & D Centre and increasingly specific data collection will ensure Nokian Heavy Tyres leads the upcoming revolution of heavy work. New innovations will enable the development of groundbreaking future solutions. For instance, to move safely and predictably without driver’s experience and evaluation, the steering system of unmanned vehicle sets higher demands on tire industry. Source