A new plant by a Finnish tire company is set to bring 400 jobs to Tennessee.
Nokian Tyres said it expects to break ground next year on a plant in Dayton, Tennessee, about 40 miles north of Chattanooga. It will be the company’s first North American plant, and is due to open in 2020.
“It’s our goal that the new plant will help us better serve our growing customer base throughout the U.S. and Canada,” said Tommi Heinonen, head of Nokian Tyres North America.
The plant is the latest in a string of investments in the United States by foreign automakers or auto suppliers, including a Volkswagen assembly plant in nearby Chattanooga. Many of those plants are also in the south. Nissan has a plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, while other foreign automakers have plants in Alabama, South Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia and Mississippi. BMW’s largest plant in the world is in Greer, S.C.
And while most U.S. automakers’ plants are in the Midwest, General Motors has a plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee while Ford has plants in Kentucky.