ORADEA, Romania — Nokian Tyres P.L.C. has inaugurated production at its newest factory, the $720 million passenger tire plant in Oradea, which it is touting as a zero-CO2-emission tire plant.
The factory — which replaces capacity in Russia that Nokian divested in the wake of the war in Ukraine — derives all of its energy needs from sources that use no fossil fuels, Nokian said, making it the world's first full-scale tire factory with zero CO2 emissions.
The inauguration marks the completion of a two-year project and sets the groundwork for commercial-scale production in early 2025, Nokian said. The plant has a nameplate capacity of 6 million tires a year.
The Oradea factory grand opening included Romanian government and local authorities; ambassadors of Finland and Romania; Nokian Tyres' board of directors and management team; and about 200 guests.
"We are very pleased to be inaugurating our Oradea factory today," Nokian Tyre President and CEO Jukka Moisio said. "It will strengthen our capability to serve our customers in Central Europe and beyond and support our growth as planned toward net sales of $2.2 billion.
"With our full-scale zero-CO2-emission tire factory, we are ready to lead the industry and set the new standard for sustainable tire manufacturing. The entire construction process was highly efficient, and I would like to thank everyone who made this achievement possible," he said.
"All electricity used at the Romania Oradea factory is CO2 emission free," Adrian Kaczmarczyk, senior vice president, operational excellence, said.
"Part of the electricity used in the factory is generated by on-site solar power units. Steam used to cure the tires is generated by innovative electric boilers which use fully CO2-emission-free electricity instead of the usual fossil fuels such as coal or gas.
"In addition, the tire manufacturing process is very energy efficient as we are only utilizing the most modern technology and machinery. With our new Oradea factory, we are truly demonstrating our commitment to sustainability," he said.
The factory produced its first tire in July and the project is ramping up by next year to the annual capacity of 6 million tires, with expansion potential in the future. The factory will focus on passenger tire production to be primarily sold in the Central European market.
The facility includes the production unit, a facility for storage and distribution of tires, and mixing, utility and administrative buildings. The combined built-up area totals approximately 1.1 million square-feet.
Nokian selected Romania i— November 2022 as the site of a tire factory to replace capacity lost due to exiting Russia.
Oradea is a city of 180,000 residents located in northwestern Romania, near the Hungarian border. The total value of the project is about $720 million, which positions the Finnish company as one of the largest foreign investors in Romania in recent years, it said.
Nokian, the No. 27 tire maker worldwide based on fiscal 2023 sales of $1.14 billion, plans to employ about 500 at the plant, starting with 300 by year-end and a hiring process that will continue into 2025, the company said.
