Nokian: Ivalo test centre celebrates 40 years
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Ivalo Test Centre in Finnish Lapland is the world’s largest winter tyre testing facility
Nokian Tyres will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its Ivalo test centre in 2026. The facility is the largest and most diverse winter tyre testing environment in the world, where the company tests thousands of tyres every year.
Also known as “White Hell”, the facility in Finnish Lapland has been the epicentre of Nokian Tyres’ pursuit of leadership in winter driving safety since it opened in 1986.
Tyre testing is an integral part of Nokian Tyres’ product development process, and the company pioneered winter tyre testing at the facility’s 20-plus tracks, which operate from November to April.
Ivalo incorporates over 40 kilometres of test tracks at White Hell, including a 700-metre-long ice hall, frozen lakes, rural roads and courses designed to test every aspect of a tyre’s performance in snow and ice.
Nokian Tyres President and CEO Paolo Pompei says, “The Ivalo test centre is at the core of our expertise and the site where our practical knowledge of extreme winter conditions originates and evolves.
“For forty years, Ivalo has been the proving ground for many pioneering innovations, and it will continue to play a key role in our research, development and testing processes.”
Nokian Tyres tests approximately 5,000 passenger and heavy tyres from across its global portfolio each year at Ivalo. The facility is located approximately 235 kilometres (150 miles) north of the Arctic Circle and covers more than 700 hectares (1,700 acres).
Nokian Tyres Ivalo test facility Manager Matti Suuripää adds, “There was just a frozen lake when White Hell opened in 1986, when a couple of guys from the testing department came here with a trailer full of tyres and created one or two tracks on the ice. There wasn’t a facility, just winter conditions.”
Nokian Tyres has built its leading position in winter driving over the past 92 years, since the company developed the world’s first winter tyre. Two years later, it introduced the first Hakkapeliitta®-branded winter tyre and celebrates the legendary tyre range’s 90th birthday this year.
The current Nokian Tyres Hakkapeliitta® winter passenger car tyre range includes the studded Nokian Tyres Hakkapeliitta® 10 and Nokian Tyres Hakkapeliitta® LT3, as well as the non-studded Nokian Tyres Hakkapeliitta® R5, in addition to products for vans and RVs.
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