Black Donuts welcomes the appeal court decision

Today, the Court of Appeal announced its decision regarding the long-running case between Nokian Tyres and Black Donuts Engineering. Black Donuts was disappointed with the original findings of the District Court but was prepared to accept the decisions and move on continuing to grow the successful business. However, the decisions were appealed.

Following today’s decision Black Donuts is satisfied with the outcome, corporate fines have been substantially reduced and in the case of team members involved in every case fines or punishments have been reduced. This means there will be no significant impact on the current financial position as the previously given fines had been already substantially paid from trading cash flows.

We welcome and respect the additional clarity provided by the Appeal Court’s decision today. For us, the most important thing, however, is to finally have an end to this long case which will allow us to accelerate the growth of our core business; helping our global industry clients to be more and more successful.

This case has proven to be an unwanted distraction for BDE and our employees, not only for those personally involved in the legal process. Inevitably this situation has led to discussions with stakeholders, investors, and customers who have needed an additional and exceptional level of re-assurances. We are extremely proud of our resilient and dedicated staff and grateful for the trust and support that our shareholders, financiers & clients have shown throughout the extended legal process.

Black Donuts has evolved from a small start-up company to the world’s leading tire technology provider. The growth is expected to accelerate now that the Nokian court case is finally over. We have a strong, international team consisting of highly skilled experts with diverse talents and backgrounds. On a positive note, we have learned from this experience. We have restructured our organization and sharpened our processes to better meet our high objectives and the boom cycle of the global tire industry. We have enforced issues of compliance in our corporate policy in order to safeguard compliance in all areas of operation and to help every team member deliver on our organization’s broader goals.

At every step of our journey, we have always put our customers first and served them to the fullest. This will definitely continue:  through constant improvement, intelligent innovation and investments, education, and our finetuned supplier ecosystem. Being a smart, brave, and innovative vanguard in the global tire industry is our way to face the future and to ensure that we can supply the best quality and value for the highest customer requirements.

Pirkkala, 19 June 2019

Black Donuts Engineering Inc.