Pustay Beaven: Nokian's bold decision makes it stronger

The right thing, so very often, is far from the easy thing. And I suppose that's part of what makes it the right thing, the fact that it costs you something in the end, the fact that you have to face challenges and persevere through them.

Nokian Tyres P.L.C. knows this well. It has, after all, spent the last three years doing the right thing. And for that, the company is stronger, more agile and more environmentally responsible.

To understand exactly where Nokian is today—poised for growth and ready to manage the economic and geopolitical challenges before it—you have to understand exactly where the company has been.

That story starts with Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. This event was the flashpoint that forced the tire maker to take stock of its values and define exactly what kind of company it wanted to be, where it wanted to do business.

Ultimately, Nokian chose to leave Russia, and that was a big, bold decision.

A rather brave decision.

Because when Nokian left Russia, it wasn't turning its back on 1 or 2 percent of its worldwide capacity like other tire makers who chose to close Russian operations. No, Nokian chose to close a plant that accounted for roughly three quarters of its global tire production.

So when Nokian chose to go, it was really making a much bigger decision. It was choosing to redefine itself, to reshape its global footprint and rethink how it operates.

There have been plenty of hurdles in the last three years as Nokian moved forward. First and foremost, the company needed to keep its products in the marketplace. So it leaned into the existing factories in Nokia, Finland, and Dayton, Tenn., investing in the operations at both. At the same time, the company turned to some trusted partners who could manufacture Nokian-branded products to help fill the gaps.

From there, Nokian focused on building a new factory, a flagship factory. It found the perfect location in Oradea, Romania, and set to work building what has become a $723 million state-of-the-art facility. One that Nokian touts as the world's first net zero-emissions tire plant.

Because that's the thing about Nokian's way forward. It never lost sight of those more responsible environmental goals. It stayed true to its pledge to use more renewable and recycled materials in its tires, and it honored its promise to build those tires in a more responsible manner.

So it's not so much that Nokian chose to do the right thing, it's that Nokian chose the right thing again and again.

With its new Romanian factory online and delivering its first tire shipments, Nokian is prepared to grow, to capture more of the market share in Europe, sure, but in North America, too, where it's building tires for the U.S. market in the U.S. market.

Yes, Nokian is finding itself in a good place today. All because it chose to do the right thing—the difficult thing—three years ago.

Pustay Beaven is managing editor of Rubber News. Connect with her on LinkedIn or at [email protected].