Nokian adds 125 workers, Korean auto supplier adds 600 jobs in Tennessee and other business news

May 24, 2024

Nokian Tyres hires 125 Dayton workers

Nokian Tyres' Dayton, Tennessee, tire production factory has completed the hiring of 125 workers as the company prepares to double production at the facility by 2024.

The recruitment campaign that took place in March through July brings the workforce to more than 475 employees, the company said in a news release.

The majority of new team members serve as production operators, the company said, though it also hired specialists in maintenance, quality, logistics and general administration.

"Nokian Tyres sets out to be an employer of choice in Southeast Tennessee, and our new hires are joining a vibrant and successful team," said Dayton Factory Operations Director David Korda in the release.

Nokian Tyres continues to add equipment that will allow the factory to produce as many as 4 million all-season and all-weather tires per year by 2024. Construction also continues on a 600,000-tire warehouse next to the production building that will be ready in summer 2024.

Nokian Tyres opened its Dayton factory in fall 2019.

Korean auto supplier expands in Tennessee

A South Korean-based automotive supplier of thermal solutions for electric vehicles announced plans Tuesday to build a new plant in East Tennessee that will eventually employ 170 workers.

Hanon Systems said it will invest nearly $170 million in Loudon County as the company establishes operations in a new facility in Huntingdon Park.

Headquartered in South Korea for more than three decades, Hanon Systems is a leading supplier of thermal and energy management solutions for the automotive industry. Its offerings include heating ventilation and air conditioning; powertrain cooling; compressor; fluid transport; and electronics and fluid pressure. Today, Hanon Systems employs more than 22,000 people across 21 countries.

"Thanks to Hanon Systems' significant investment in our state, more than 6,000 Tennesseans will be employed by South Korean companies," Tennessee Economic Development Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter said Tuesday in an announcement of the new plant.

UTC cyber program wins NSF funding

A University of Tennessee at Chattanooga academic program dedicated to preparing future professionals to meet the expanding needs in the field of cybersecurity has won renewed funding from the National Science Foundation's CyberCorps Scholarship for Service initiative.

The UTC program is among seven American university programs selected for renewed funding of more than $24 million from NSF during the next four years. The UTC program is overseen by Dr. Mengjun Xie, a UC Foundation Associate Professor and director of the UTC Information Security (InfoSec) Center: A National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense.

"The successful renewal of the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service award symbolizes an impressive endorsement of our university and cybersecurity programs by the National Science Foundation," Xie said. "This highly selective award demonstrates the exceptional quality and capacity of our cybersecurity education and research."

The UTC program was launched in 2017 with funding of $1.5 million from NSF's CyberCorps Scholarship for Service initiative. After graduation, former scholarship recipients are required to work "in the cybersecurity mission of a federal, state, local or tribal government organization" or other designated entities for a period equal to the length of the scholarship, according to NSF.

— Compiled by Dave Flessner