Black Donuts sees tire investment recovery after 2025 downturn

Helsinki, Finland – Black Donuts Group has reported signs of recovery in the global tire investment market after a slowdown in investment projects due to global geopolitical tensions.

The Finnish tire engineering and consulting group said its order backlog ‘continued to grow during 2026,’ following indications of a recovery in the tire market towards the end of last year.

In its 2025 annual review, published recently, Black Donuts said full-year sales fell 58% year-on-year to €6.6 million, from €15.4 million reported in 2024.

Operating result swung to a loss of €2.5 million, compared with a profit of €3.6 million the year before.

Black Donuts linked the decline particularly to delays in customers' new tire-factory investments amid geopolitical uncertainty and challenges around project financing.

Despite the downturn, Black Donuts remained optimistic about the near-term outlook for the industry.

“In the group's view, the slowdown in investments is temporary, and the need for more efficient manufacturing capacity and new products is also pronounced following the increase in sales of Tier-3 brands,” said Black Donuts.

The group also pointed to changing patterns of investment within the tire industry, including growing interest among large tire distributors in establishing their own production capacity or arranging manufacture of their own products.

Alongside its engineering activities, Black Donuts said it was continuing efforts to commercialise its renewable tire-material technology through subsidiary Nemus Materials.

Established in March, the wholly owned Finnish subsidiary is tasked with manufacturing Nemus, a cellulose-based reinforcing material developed by Black Donuts.

As reported by ERJ, Nemus Materials is exploring production in Kotka, southern Finland, and has signed a preliminary land-lease agreement with the city for a proposed facility in the Mussalo industrial area.

The material comprises 80–87% natural rubber and 13–20% microfibrillated cellulose and is being developed to replace fossil-based tire inputs including carbon black while maintaining tire-grade performance. (ERJ report)

In its latest annual report, Black Donuts said its first raw-material innovation was expected to advance towards “a production investment” during 2026.