Nokian Tyres moving HQ to Colchester, Vermont

Nokian Tyres, a specialist in winter tires, is relocating its sales office to and concentrating its operations in Colchester, Vermont, in order to serve the winter tire markets more efficiently, according to Jari Lepisto, president of Nokian Tyres US Holdings Inc. The move from LaVergne, Tennessee, to Colchester will be finalized during spring 2010 and include six to eight employees moving with the company with another couple hired locally, he said. The Colchester facility will employee about 150 total.
"We are real experts in winter tires and northern conditions worldwide. In Vermont, we are near our key customers and can serve the area even better," Lepisto said.
"Naturally our target is to expand our operations and this should create even more job opportunities within Nokian Tyres in Vermont," he said.
Nokian Tyres Inc, the North American subsidiary of Nokian Tyres PLC of Finland, handles the selling and marketing of Nokian products in the region. Nokian Tyres´ wholesale operation, University Wholesalers Inc in Colchester distributes to the Northeast. Nokian Tyres also owns Vianor Inc, a 12-store retail tire chain in New England. Lepisto said Nokian has been expanding its Colchester facility since it bought University Wholesalers in 2005.
Nokian Tyres is a forerunner in developing tires for extreme northern conditions and offers the widest range of winter tires in the world, including its famous Hakkapeliitta brand. The company manufactures winter and summer tires for cars and tires for heavy machinery. Nokian Tyres also runs the Vianor chain with some 540 own and partner outlets in the USA, Nordic and Baltic countries, Central Europe, CIS countries and Russia.
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. It manufactures tires in Nokia, Finland, in Russia and under contract in the US with Cooper.
Source: Vermont Business Magazine. Nokian Tyres.