BKT: An Indian tyre-maker with a global presence

By OEM Update Editorial November 11, 2017 2:34 pm IST

With over 92 per cent of its products exported to more than 160 countries across the world, BKT remains the global giant in off-highway tyre business.

Inside BKT’s
production
facility

Balkrishna Industries (BKT), a company with over 30 years of global presence in the off-highway tyres segment, today enjoys principal presence in five continents around the world covering more than 160 countries. It is the preferred supplier to international OEMs in industrial or construction and mining segments. Since its inception in 1988, BKT has grown into a diversified industrial major exporting its expansive range of off-highway solutions to the world.

Quality conscious users who adhere to stringent conformity standards in countries like Europe, America, LSA, Middle-East and Asia prefer BKT as their supplier. The international quality of BKT tyres is achieved by using the foremost quality of raw materials that are processed through the most advanced and developed technology.

Manufacturing with excellence
‘Make in India’ for the global marketplace cannot be better demonstrated than BKT. In the early 1990s when every other tyre company in India was busy producing highway tyres primarily for mass use, the leaders at BKT foresaw a unique opportunity in international business and started production in the ‘off the highway’ segment.

Currently BKT has four functioning state-of-the-art manufacturing plants spread across India. The Chopanki site is specialised in the production of all steel radial tyres for the industrial and OTR sectors. All BKT tyre line-ups are entirely produced in India at the production sites of Aurangabad, Bhiwadi and Chopanki, to which adds a modern mould plant in Dombivali and the latest production site in Bhuj provided with state-of-the-art facilities and machinery.

The Bhuj plant, built up with a whopping investment of $500 million, has a production capacity of 120,000 tonnes per year with having capabilities of producing a diverse range – from 5-inch lawn tyres to 51-inch giant OTR tyres.

The plant is also armed with highly sophisticated an R&D house and testing tracks. The Bhuj R&D department, equipped with physical and mechanical testing, has researchers, engineers, and technicians, working on from designing a new tyre, over developing new compounds, to improving product performance as well as production processes.

Comprehensive portfolio for off-highway
BKT has products from 5-inch rim diameter to 54-inch rim diameter for vehicles ranging from trailers, forklifts, etc. to technologically advanced machines like high horsepower tractors, combines, harvesters, GPS controlled vehicles, articulated dump trucks, high-speed cranes, sophisticated port vehicles and container handlers etc. BKT claims to be the first tyre company in India to produce all-steel radial OTR tyres. OTR vehicles ranging from rigid dump trucks to snow manoeuvring vehicles use these tyres. The tyres under this segment range from a 20-inch diameter tipper truck size to a giant 51-inch rigid dump truck size in bias make and 49-inch in radial make, thus covering every requirement for industrial use and mining.

BKT has been selling tyres to world’s leading OEMs. The company recently launched an ultra advanced range of tyres especially for high speed cranes. The tyre 445/95 R25 enables heavy high speed cranes to journey at speeds of 80 km per hour.

Quality matters
“Our each product passes over 450 stages of tests. The result of this rigorous practice being that BKT products are known for their reliability and have the lowest claim ratio in the industry,” informs Rajiv Poddar, Joint Managing Director, BKT. The commitment to quality products is testified by the adherence to the strictest quality benchmarks with international certifications such as ISO 9001-2008 and ISO 14001-2004.

The foundation of BKT has been built on the pillars of R&D, technology and best-in-class quality. This has enabled BKT to develop 150 – 160 new SKUs (stock keeping units) every year. This has led to an impressive portfolio of 2,600 SKUs which includes bias, radial, solid and all-steel radial tyres for a wide range of off-highway applications. The company has its own R&D centre which develops these tyres that can encounter the toughest and the most hostile terrains faced during mining and industrial activities.

The company claims to be the first tyre manufacturer to build an outdoor tyre testing track in India. The outdoor testing facility has 6 different tracks, the circuit stretches over a total area of about 25 acres including tracks for tyre performance tests in wet and dry conditions, an asphalt track as well as an inclined concrete track. Thanks to a large variety of tests, many relevant features such as traction, handling, comfort, noise, fuel consumption, braking, rolling resistance, soil compaction and many more can be measured by means of high-precision devices and instruments, according to the company.

BKT continues to focus on India
BKT would continue to focus on the Indian market as the mining sector is also reviving on the efforts are being taken by the new government. “The new government is looking to take positive steps for the mining sector and we are seeing bigger vehicles are being plied in the mining sector which will lead to bigger tyres in India. We have less than one per cent market share in mining tyre segment so there is a huge space for us to grow,” said Rajiv.

Competing with global players
“We invest heavily every year into R&D, to upgrade our plant facilities and develop new products”, informed Arvind Poddar, Chairman and Managing Director, BKT. “Our competition is with global tyre giants, so we always have to have an edge over technology if we have to compete with them. In the all steel OTR radial tyres for mining, we are the pioneers from India.”

BKT at EXCON
BKT to showcase its versatile range of quality tyres at EXCON 2017 – the 9th international construction equipment and construction technology trade fair to be held in Bengaluru between 12th and 16th December.

Our competition is with global tyre giants, so we always have to have an edge over technology if we have to compete with them.

Arvind Poddar, Chairman and Managing Director, BKT

We have less than one per cent market share in mining tyre segment so there is a huge space for us to grow.