VSEVOLOZHSK, Russia — Ikon Tyres Co. has started commercial-scale production of Ikon-branded tires at the plant in Vzevolozhsk that Russian energy giant P.J.S.C. Tatneft acquired last year from Nokian Tyres.
The summer tires, which will go on sale in the spring of 2024, will be the first tires to carry the Ikon brand, the tire maker announced in late December. The product range will cover premium Ikon Autograph tires and the mid-priced Ikon Nordman tires, which will be rebranded Ikon Character in the near future.
The plant near Saint Petersburg, opened by Nokian in 2005, has a capacity to produce 17 million radial passenger car and light truck tires a year.
According to Ikon Tyres, all premium and mid-range tires produced at the site in both winter and summer versions will carry the Ikon brand.
Ikon Tyres was created following the acquisition of Nokian's assets by Tatneft in March last year, as part of the Finnish group's exit from Russia.
During the transition period, the Russian company said it produced winter tires without the "mother brand" on the sidewall.
According to Ikon Tyres, the Vsevolozhsk plant "operates around the clock and produces summer and winter tires for passenger cars and SUVs for the markets of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus."
Export to EU countries is limited by sanctions and, therefore, production is not operating at full capacity, the company also noted.
"Currently, Ikon Tires has more than 1,100 employees [and] the average length of service of the staff is more than 10 years," Andrey Pantyukhov, general director of Ikon Tyres, said.
Nokian's Russian operations generated $378 million in revenue in 2021, or roughly 20% of total sales revenue, the last full year the plant operated under Nokian's aegis. That represented roughly 20% of Nokian's global revenue at that time.
