Nokian Tires plans to reopen its Dayton, Tennessee factory on Monday, May 4, with some employees returning Monday, April 27.
“We are launching this phased reopening process after closely monitoring local and federal guidelines, and in light of recent actions taken by the State of Tennessee to begin reopening the state’s economy. This marks the conclusion of a shutdown that began Friday, March 27,” the company said in a press statement.
“Nokian Tires manufactures supplies that are vital to the transportation industry, which has been deemed essential by the state and federal governments. Given the importance of that industry and out of a desire to provide stability for our employees, we feel it is important to reopen the factory at this time,” the company added in its announcement.
To help prevent spread of COVID-19 at the factory, Nokian will take aggressive measures such as the following:
- Making every entrant onto factory property subject to temperature screening
- Implementing social distancing policies, including a six-foot distance requirement, rotating lunches, dedicated entrances for each department, and eliminating factory-wide meetings
- Allowing only business-critical visitors onto the factory site
- Increasing the frequency of cleaning throughout the facility
