Nokian Tyres broke ground on Thursday, May 11, at its new passenger car tire factory in Oradea, western Romania, one of the biggest greenfield investments in the country in recent years. Prime minister Nicolae Ciuca and the president of Bihor County Council, Ilie Bolojan, joined the company's top management at the ceremony.

Nokian Tyres says the factory in Oradea, which will require a total investment of about EUR 650 mln, will be the tire industry’s first zero CO2 emission factory.

Commercial tire production in the factory is scheduled to start in 2025, serving customers especially in Central Europe.

“This investment is a significant strategic step enabling our future growth and development. A world-class manufacturing facility in Europe is a key step in getting additional capacity and creating a balanced manufacturing platform as we build the new Nokian Tyres,” says Jukka Moisio, President and CEO of Nokian Tyres.

The greenfield factory is being built in the north-west of Romania in the city of Oradea, an important regional and European hub of many transport routes. The annual capacity of the facility will be 6 million tires, with expansion potential in the future.

The factory will produce mainly larger rim size passenger and SUV tires that will be primarily sold in the Central European market. The site will also house a distribution facility for storage and distribution of tires. The combined built-up area totals some 100,000 sqm.

The planned headcount of the Romanian factory is about 500 people. Nokian Tyres will hire people both for production as well as managerial positions. The recruitment will accelerate in 2024 and continue until the complete workforce of the factory has been hired and the factory starts its operations.

Nokian Tyres is waiting for the final decision from the EU for its EU funding application for some EUR 100 million for this factory, which the Romanian government already approved earlier this year.

andrei@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Nokian Tyres)