Nokian Tires test center in Lapland celebrates 40th anniversary: it is the most extreme winter tire testing facility in the world
It is located 235 km north of the Arctic Circle, in Lapland, the “White hell” (White Hell) Of Nokian Tyreswhich celebrates its premieres this year 40 years of extreme activity. Here every year, on an area of more than 700 hectares covered with snow and ice, around 5,000 tires for cars and heavy vehicles are tested. Since its opening in 1986 the Ivalo, in Finlandformed the epicenter of Nokian’s efforts to achieve world leadership in winter driving safety. A tradition and a know-how which dates back to 1934, when the Finnish company officially began the development of the world’s first winter tire, marketed globally in 1936 under the Hakkapeliitta brand. “The Ivalo test center is the nucleus of our experience – explains Paolo Pompei, president and CEO of Nokian Tires – the place where our practical knowledge of extreme winter conditions originates and develops”.
ICE TEMPERATURES
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Temperatures average around -20 °C, -25 °C on the Ivalo test center track. It is no coincidence that the Nokian Tires structure has earned the nickname White Hell“White Hell”, with a glacial thriller landscape that creates the perfect conditions for the development and testing of the highest performing and safest winter tires. Between November and April, the Finnish company that effectively invented winter tires carries out approx 200 test runs per week on 20 tracks available for a total of 40 km. Truly extreme weather conditions allow it to operate effectively in Ivalo for approximately 180 days a year, using not only the standard circuits, but also a 700m ice hall, frozen lakes and country roads, to test every single aspect of tire performance on snow and ice: the circuits include a curvilinear track for measuring lateral grip, snow-covered tracks for handling assessment, and a steep hill for acceleration and grip tests longitudinal. In this way, Nokian Tires manages to simulate every aspect of the driving experience, ensuring that the tires are ready to face the most extreme circumstances, behave safely and predictably in every situation.
5000 TIRES PER YEAR
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Since its founding, the Ivalo center has transformed from a remote Lappish destination to a veritable epicenter of Nokian Tyres’ testing operations, with around 5,000 passenger car and heavy vehicle tires tested per year across its entire production range. “When the White Hell opened in 1986 there was only a frozen lake – recalls Matti Suuripää, director of Nokian Tires’ Ivalo testing facility – some men from the testing department came with a trailer full of tires and made a couple of tracks on the ice. There was no facility, just winter conditions”. In recent years, experts have concentrated their energies on the preparation of products intended for exposure to changing weather conditions, and therefore not only winter tires are tested at Ivalo, but also all-season, all-weather and all-terrain tires intended for Central Europe and North America, simultaneously subjected to other wet and dry tests at Hakka Ring in Spain and at Nokia in Finland. “Our test methods have been refined over the years and have become well diversified,” explains Nokian Tires Ivalo test facility director Matti Suuripää. “We have adapted our test methods to cover different weather situations and well-varied conditions. We work hard to develop products that make driving predictable.”
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