BKT Dominates Off-highway Tyres Segment

Balkrishna Tyres Limited or rather BKT, as it is fondly propounded among the industry stakeholders, flagged off its journey in the late 80s, and never looked back since then. Unlike others, it embarked upon doing things differently instead of doing different things. Getting off the league from 'highway tyres', BKT directed its focus on Off-Highway Tyres (OHTs) and moved on carve out a niche for itself. Today, having established its presence in 130 countries across five continents in the industrial, construction, and agricultural tyre segments; the company generates 90% of its revenue from the overseas markets.

According to Mr. Arvind Poddar, Managing Director, BKT, all BKT tyres are known and appreciated by BKT customers for their extremely functional features and productivity potential. Manufactured with state-of-the-art technology, these specialty tyres are qualitative, tough, and durable; attributes that made them instant hit among the quality-conscious European and American users, who only value performance. "All thank to our robust R&D wing wherein we have stringent quality control mechanisms in place, which facilitates a qualitative offering at a constant pace. Moreover, we use only high quality raw materials (Natural Rubber), processed through the most advanced and developed technology. Each of our products passes over 450 stages of tests. The result of this rigorous practice is that BKT products are known for their reliability and have the lowest claim ratio in the industry," asserts Mr. Poddar.

As one-stop solution for all off-highway tyre solutions, BKT caters to the emerging needs of its customers in agricultural, industrial, material handling, construction, earthmoving (OTR), forestry, lawn and garden equipment and all terrain vehicles (ATV) segments. "We are one of the world's leading manufacturers of 'Off-Highway Tyres' with more than 2000 SKU's (Stock Keeping Units)," informs Mr Poddar adding that on an average, the company develops around 160 new SKUs every year in response to the ever changing requirements of its burgeoning clientele. "Significant innovation is enriching and enhancing the BKT's tyre line-up as a response to, and often anticipating, final users' needs," avers Mr Poddar.

The latest in BKT's portfolio are Ridemax FL 693 M and Ridemax FL 698. Ridemax FL 693 M, featuring a D speed rating and a low rolling resistance, is designed for those who frequently travel on the road with trailers or tank trucks. The Ridemax FL 698 is designed for dumpers traveling from pits to sites, for tank trucks and manure spreaders. According to BKT, the all-steel radial tire can achieve speeds up to 80 km/h (approximately 50 mph). What's more, BKT's Airomax AM 27 is a product for on- and off-the-road high-speed cranes suitable for applications on road and highway surfaces as well as on more aggressive construction site grounds.

Besides, the company has also added a few new models to its agriculture product line that include radial tyre Agrimax Force in the size IF 710/75 R 42 for high-powered tractors and the Agrimax Spargo tyre in the size VF 380/90 R 46, for sprayers and row crop applications.

"At BKT, we are committed to offer the best possible solutions for all Off-Highway Tyre requirements to feed the ever-growing demand of our customers across the globe," says Mr Poddar adding that the company is continuously expanding its production base. With three state-of-the-art manufacturing plants – one each at Chopanki-Bhiwadi in Rajasthan, Waluj-Aurangabad in Maharashtra, Bhuj in Gujarat – the company is confident to soon attain 100% capacity utilization to reach 2,70,000 MT. Besides, BKT also has one in-house hi-tech mould-manufacturing facility at Dombivali, near Mumbai that allows frequent changes of moulds. "Eight to ten moulds are changed everyday in our plants based on the requirement of the tyres to be produced. Production flexibility is supported by our prompt R&D team in producing the required tyre variant within a span of 10-12 weeks," informs Mr Poddar adding that.

Mr Poddar said that BKT was created with a vision to attain global leadership in a niche developed by the company itself. "At BKT, it is our constant endeavor to offer best quality product & services to highest level of customer satisfaction; through total quality management, product development and product customization techniques & services by implementing process safety and environment protection. And, today we are slowly but steadily marching towards our goal."