As India's coal, iron ore and critical mineral mining sectors expand under the country's self-reliance push, Ascenso Tyres, an India-based manufacturer of off-highway tyres, is extending its expertise into the performance-driven mining segment. The company has scaled its India-manufactured All Steel Radial (ASR) Off-The-Road (OTR) range to include 49-inch giant tyres, with the products designed and manufactured at its production facility in India.
Ascenso's Radial OTR journey began in late 2023, following extensive customer engagement that identified growing demand for high-performance radial mining tyres across multiple geographies, including India. Beginning with 25-inch tyres, Ascenso's mining portfolio has expanded to 49-inch giant mining tyres, with larger sizes already under development. The range is intended to serve applications spanning construction and quarrying to large open-pit mining operations.
“Supporting this expansion is a focused investment of US$100 million covering advanced manufacturing infrastructure, specialised radial production technology, product development and testing capabilities, engineering talent, giant tyre manufacturing infrastructure and future capacity expansion. The company is now the second Indian tyre brand, and the fifth globally outside China, to venture into giant tyre manufacturing with its own in-house design and development capability. This development reflects the increasing engineering capability being built within India in a segment historically dominated by global majors and Chinese manufacturers,” said Dhaval Nanavati, Chief Executive Officer, Ascenso Tyres.
He added, “We want Indian mining operators to have access to global-standard performance without having to look overseas for it, and we intend to compete on that performance, not on price alone.”
The development also marks a significant step in Ascenso's evolution from an Agriculture, Forestry and Construction (AFC) tyre specialist into a technology-driven performance brand for demanding earthmoving and mining applications.
The company has assembled a specialised team of OTR engineers, application specialists and R&D professionals to develop its radial technology platform. It has since commercialised multiple Radial OTR products and established a roadmap covering giant mining tyres, specialised tread patterns and larger wheel diameters for mining, earthmoving and loader applications.
"Ascenso's strategy is to compete with leading global manufacturers on performance while offering a competitive price point. For Indian mining operators, this provides a domestically manufactured alternative to imported tyres," said Yogesh Mahansaria, Managing Director, Ascenso Tyres.
Rather than competing purely on cost, the company is positioning its products to offer performance comparable with leading global brands while addressing the productivity and cost-efficiency requirements of Indian mining operators. Ascenso sees this positioning, together with its performance credentials in the 35-inch and above range, as an entry point into a segment that has largely been served by imported tyres.
Radial OTR Push for the Domestic Market
Mahansaria added, “We are betting big on the mining sector and have launched our high-performance Large to Ultra Large (Giant) OTR Tyre. The upcoming sizes include 33.00R51, 37.00R57 and 40.00R57."“Engineered for the toughest mining and quarrying environments, these tyres feature an advanced all-steel radial construction with multiple steel belt layers that deliver exceptional durability, resistance to punctures, and superior load-carrying capability under extreme operating conditions. Specially formulated tread compounds minimise heat build-up during prolonged haul cycles, while the wide footprint ensures optimal load distribution, enhanced stability, and improved operational efficiency. Reinforced shoulders and robust sidewalls provide added protection against impact damage, helping to maximise tyre life and reduce costly equipment downtime,” said Debasis Khuntia, Senior Vice President, Domestic Sales, Ascenso Tyres.
Reaching 49-inch giant mining tyres, engineered here in India, is a significant milestone, not just for Ascenso but for what Indian manufacturing is capable of in this space. This roadmap reflects a long-term, sustained commitment to the mining segment, in India and globally.
“These tyres are massive. Globally, only a few companies manufacture tyres of this scale because they require extremely high-performance engineering. We are a serious player building a high-performance Indian brand. We are already supplying to over 100 countries,” he added.
"Ascenso has laid out a multi-year roadmap for its Radial OTR range extending into 2027 and 2028, with additional sizes and patterns planned across mining, earthmoving and loader applications.
“Since large mining tyres cannot be sold without dedicated technical support, we are building specialised field teams to educate operators, manage tyre maintenance on-site and directly support mine operations. As regards distribution, large key-account customers that require high-touch service are handled directly by our internal team. To ensure wide geographic reach across states and mine clusters, we partner with specialised regional distributors,” said Sumit Garg, Global Head Marketing, Ascenso Tyres.
Engineering with Customers on the Ground
Mining environments vary significantly according to geography, equipment and operating conditions. To complement laboratory testing and product development, Ascenso is investing in customer-facing engineering capabilities and deploying dedicated Field Application Engineers across key mining markets, including India's major mining belts.The engineers will be strategically deployed across India’s major mining hubs, spanning the coalfields of Jharkhand and Odisha to the iron ore belts of Chhattisgarh and Karnataka, enabling Ascenso to capture real-time operational insights from the field. Their role will focus on monitoring tyre performance, evaluating wear patterns, and assessing site-specific operating conditions. The data collected will be systematically channelled to Ascenso’s global R&D team, driving continuous product enhancement and supporting the development of next-generation mining tyre solutions tailored to the industry's evolving demands.
