"Today our sales are around $115 million," Dennis Gaede, president of Nokian Tyres Inc., told dealers earlier this week. "Our goal is to be at $250 million by the year 2010."
Nokian introduced a number of new tires to its dealers during a meeting in Las Vegas, Nev., including two new light truck tires, the Vatiiva H/T and the Vatiiva M/T. (Nokian Tyres Inc. is the North American subsidiary of Finland-based Nokian Tyres plc.)
During the event, Gaede stressed Nokian's commitment to safety as its main selling point.
"Safety has always been in the details. Seventy six percent of all accidents and fatalities are due to loss of lateral grip. Only 4% of accidents happen with stopping and starting."
He also emphasized Nokian's dedication to the independent tire dealer channel.
"We think our company can make a very nice profit working with the independent tire dealer. We want to form long-term partnerships with our customers... that's very much a missing ingredient in business today."
