Biggest-ever tyre prototype rolls out

BKT has designed the prototype of a giant tyre product, the EARTHMAX SR 468 for dump trucks. The prototype that has been made in the 40.00 R 57 size is ready to be tested in coming months by BKT engineers.

The new machinery to make this enormous tyre reached the Indian plant in Bhuj last January, just before the lockdown. Initially, owing to the emergency situation created by the Covid-19 pandemic, the machinery which reached Bhuj was not immediately installed. Only after a temporary shutdown of BKT’s manufacturing facilities, which was necessary to implement a rigorous safety plan for all staff, did activities finally return to full operation. Including the installation of the new machinery for the giant 57” tyre, installed with the online help of the manufacturer and the BKT engineers on site.

“Despite the pandemic and the extreme difficulties caused by the situation, in BKT we achieved the impossible: going ahead very determinedly but with a similar focus on people, who for us are the company’s real assets,” said Rajiv Poddar, Joint Managing Director, BKT.

“With this giant 57” tyre, the prototype of which has been made, thanks to the extraordinary determination of my fellow workers, we wish to send a positive message to the market, to our partner distributors and to our end-users. In BKT, Research and Development of new products helps the company evolve and the whole sector keep going. Thanks for the enthusiasm and know-how, BKT always finds new ways to grow, even in the most complex situations.”

“At this time, we must call on all our strength, energy and all our creativity. That is what drives BKT’s initiatives and also its products,” said Dilip Vaidya, President and Director, Technology, BKT. “It is an important moment that a giant product has been created which will now be subject to the most rigorous testing up to the spring of 2021, until we are sure we have achieved the highest possible level of quality and reliability, as always. Only when we are absolutely sure we can offer our users the best EARTHMAX SR 468 possible, will we officially launch the new 57” giant,” he added.

EARTHMAX SR 468 joins the numerous products which make up the EARTHMAX family, a range of radial tyres used on off-road vehicles and equipped with an all steel structure which provides greater resistance to the casing and hence against damage. A winning feature of the EARTHMAX SR 468 is the special tread design and the compound, created to limit the heat generated. The E-4 depth of the tread provides extreme resistance in highly challenging conditions.

Source: Equipment India