Jarmo Sunnari: "Defending the consumers’ right for safe choices in demanding conditions”

First, careful research is made into the consumer and customer needs as well as future trends and market and vehicle development. Production capacity as well as what is currently available on the market is taken into account. Based on this, the concept is created, and the technical developments starts. 

The technical development of each new tire takes normally from two to four years of innovating, development, and testing. During this time the development manager steers the project. "Approximately 50% of Nokian Tyres’ product development costs are spent on testing. Adequate test results cannot be achieved in a laboratory or through computer tests but need to be gathered in test centers simulating real-life situations and on various roads and weather conditions." 

After the product is technically perfected and ready to be launched, the global product manager takes hold of the steering wheel and stays in charge of the tire until the end of its life cycle on the market. 

Steering our product portfolio for tires for demanding northern conditions is a good fit for Jarmo. Before becoming a global product manager, Jarmo worked within Nokian Tyres as the team leader of the standards, regulations and approval team concentrating on tasks involving laws and standards of the tire industry. Improving the safety of driving was the overarching theme, and during Jarmo’s time on the team, the regulations for the EU tire label as well as the standards concerning studded winter tire testing went through a change – significantly impacted by the relentless effort from the Nokian Tyres team. 

Introduced to consumers in 2012, the EU tire label is nowadays applied to all summer, all-season and non-studded winter tires for passenger cars, SUVs, vans, trucks and buses to help European consumers make informed choices when choosing new tires. "Previously the label did not give information to help drivers choose safe winter tires for winter conditions, as the classification criteria of fuel efficiency, wet grip and external rolling noise do not indicate the tire’s winter safety properties." 

In 2021, mainly thanks to the Nokian Tyres team and Jarmo who coordinated the advocacy, the Ice Grip Marking and the Snow Grip Marking were finally added to the label. "Nokian Tyres made a big effort to develop and enhance the test methods and advocate them to the decision makers, all to defend the consumers’ right for safe choices in demanding winter conditions. Getting the Ice Grip Marking and test passed took ten years of hard work and it was a big win for us. In the end the marking was included not only in EU tire labelling but also in international tire regulations." 

Jarmo was also involved when the UN’s set of tire regulations had a new addition dedicated to studded winter tires. "This was an even bigger win in a way, because it saves a huge amount of resources that can be used in other tire testing and development. For drivers and authorities, the UN’s new regulations mean that it is easy for them to recognize a tire designed to be driven only with studs by a simple symbol on the sidewall." 

It is not every day that a company impacts the improvements of international laws or regulations. Jarmo stresses that it was a team effort not only from Jarmo’s own team at the time but from various parts of the company. "Simply representing Nokian Tyres made an impact when entering winter tire negotiations with the regulators. It is self-evident that we know what we are talking about when we talk about demanding winter conditions." 

Besides eMBA, Jarmo also has a degree in international politics, specializing in Europe studies, but when pushing a complex issue though complex international networks, it is also necessary to be made for demanding conditions yourself: "Strategic thinking comes very naturally to me. I am also relentless by nature." 

In his everyday work as a global product manager, Jarmo’s strategic skills are still put to the test. He enjoys his role that gives both independence to execute his tasks to best of his ability but is also dependent on close teamwork and professional colleagues. 

In Nokian Tyres he values the company culture that means equality, freedom and innovative spirit. The work culture and the flat hierarchy are like a miniature model of the Scandinavian society: "The best workday of the year is Bring your child to work day. It perfectly embodies our company’s values."