BKT Rising

Off-highway tire manufacturer BKT, which has been in the business for 27 years, is poised to grow its presence overseas and more than double its turnover to $2 billion by 2020, through a slew of product innovation, marketing and brand-building strategies. The company BKT is one of the world´s leading manufacturers of off-highway tires, with over 92 per cent exported to more than 130 countries across five continents. It is a one-stop-shop for all off-highway tire solutions. BKT has manufacturing units at Aurangabad in Maharashtra, Bhiwadi and Chopanki in Rajasthan, and Bhuj in Gujarat. The $450 million greenfield plant in Bhuj, is expected to boost BKT´s production capacity by 75 per cent. BKT has a three-fold strategy of expanding its reach in the global market through the launch of new products and extension of its existing ranges. Its vision is to double its current 6 per cent market share in speciality segments. Emphasis on R&D Research and Development forms the very basis of BKT. It designs, develops and releases 150-160 new tyre sizes each year. It is the first off-highway tire manufacturer in India to be REACH compliant for its entire range of products and has the world´s fastest turnaround time of 8-10 weeks for new product development.The company has also achieved the international Standard for Quality Management System (ISO 9001:2008) and Environmental Management System (ISO 14001:2004) certification. Besides, a new R&D set-up is being planned at the greenfield project in Bhuj. Product range BKT provides 2,300 different SKUs (Stock Keeping Units) for various kinds of applications. It is the first tire company in India to produce the all-steel radial OTR tyres. It has products from 5” rim diameter to 54” rim diameter. BKT has products available for the traditional vehicles like dumpers, graders, trailers, forklifts, implements, etc, to the technologically advanced machines like high horsepower tractors, combines, harvestors, GPS controlled vehicles, articulated dump trucks, high-speed cranes, sophisticated port vehicles and container handlers, etc. For the high power tractors, there are the latest ”IF” technology tires, which can be used at low pressure on the field as well as the road. With the future of off-highway tire segment being radial, a new facility at Bhuj will have the emphasis on radials. This facility will also produce ultra large and giant OTR tyres upto 51” rim diameter. The tires upto 35” rim diameter in the radial OTR segment are already available,and apart from this, in the agriculture sector, BKT has radials up to 54´ and also have specialised radial tires for high speed crane applications. BKT is consistently maintaining the quality of tires and each of its product has to cross over 450 tough testing stages during the entire manufacturing process, which then brings out one of the most reliable product in terms of the lowest claim ratio in the industry. Sustainable development The BKT logo comprising of green shades actually represents the green philosophy of the company. It is the first Indian tire manufacturing company to meet all the essentials and quality requirements as per the European standards. The windmills set up in Rajasthan provides 40 per cent of the energy to two of the plants in Northern India. The new plant set up at Bhuj is a greenfield plant, made keeping the environment in mind. The challenges Tire companies are following BKT´s activities closely. Especially from the low-cost origin, the ´me-too´ companies, without the focus on quality, are trying for a pie of OHT segment disturbing the market equilibrium. Summary: BKT has grown exponentially with around 30 per cent CAGR in the past six years. All in all, BKT endeavours a holistic approach in its operations with belief in offering a wide range of products, best quality, marketing and training support, reasonable prices, best after-sales service, consistency and transparency in its dealings, ensuring the company´s reliability all over the world. ´Growing together´ sums up the company´s philosophy, being its mantra for continuous growth. Today, BKT is a well-diversified Indian industrial conglomerate emerging globally as the preferred supplier to major OEM´s in construction, agricultural and industrial tire segments, establishing its presence in more than 130 countries across the globe, and enjoys the privilege of being one of the largest tires exporters out of India. (Communication by the management of the company)