Travelling the Road to Off-Road Success

“How do we plan to achieve this?” Poddar asked rhetorically. “We need to expand our range and make sure products are available, and also by expanding capacity at existing plants. For this we have set aside a capital outlay of $50 million.” Capacity at existing plants will, he adds, increase from 130,000 to 160,000 tonnes by the end of this year. The company’s three existing factories and its in-house mould manufacturing facility will also soon be joined by a fourth tyre manufacturing plant. “We plan to put up a fourth plant in Gujarat, West India. This greenfield project will be close to sea ports and will have a 150,000 tonne capacity, implemented in three phases.” In an interview with Tyres & Accessories, Mr. Poddar confirmed the first phase of the new project, to be completed with a capital outlay of $125 million, will enter service in the fourth quarter of 2010 and have a capacity of 50,000 tonnes.

All three stages should be completed in the next three to four years. Increased capacity comes hand in hand, for BKT, with an expanded range. This expansion includes completely new product lines. “I’m very proud to mention BKT will be the first Indian company to offer all-steel OTR tyres, under the sub brand Earthmax,” said Poddar. “The Earthmax range will become available from the third quarter of 2008, and have an initial capacity of 15,000 tonnes. This will grow to 30,000 by 2009. Products will be released in various patterns and compounds for sizes from 25 to 35-inches, and will be supported by unmatched after sales service.” The new range will be first displayed at the Electra Mining show South Africa in early September and then at Minexpo USA at the end of the month. Plans too for a stronger presence in the giant OTR segment, under the Mineforce brand name are well developed. BKT currently offers cross-ply OTR tyres in sizes between 24 and 51-inches, its latest release being a 27.00-49 for heavy-duty dumpers, with a 30.00-51 tyre for larger dumpers coming soon. New products in other market segments are also on their way, or already here. As Mr. Poddar comments: “The agricultural, industrial and OTR segments are all important for us, and at the moment we are looking at growing in agri and OTR. This will be our primary focus. In the OTR segment, growth will be in our all-steel lines.

2008 sees new products and a specialist OTR team added to the BKT mix

For agricultural, as the demand for radial and bigger sizes grows, we are expanding both capacity and range, introducing products such as forestry tyres. “Increased oil prices have given farmers additional incentive to find new ways to better their productivity and reduce costs,” he adds. “The choice of tyre is an effective way of doing this and for this reason tyre demand is increasing. This definitely is the case in Europe, and to a lesser extent in America.” At the Reifen Essen show BKT displayed one such agricultural offering for the first time. “I’m very proud to announce the launch of our first forestry tyre during this exhibition,” said Mr. Poddar. These aramide, All steel belted products will feature a specially developed cut resistant compound and initially be available in seven sizes for rim diameters between 18 and 30-inches. And the company’s bigger and better agricultural range doesn’t end there – the forestry tyre range will be joined in the last quarter of 2008 by a full range of harvester tyres. Returning to OTR tyres, a sign that the company recognises the segment’s importance can be seen in the recent participation at Reifen show with a separate OTR booth, with a dedicated team. Team members will travel to customer sites around the globe regularly. One task the team will carry out during such visits is to evaluate operating conditions to help BKT develop tyres with patterns and compounds (such as heat resistant or cut resistant) specific to particular regions or conditions. Considering BKTs specialisation as a producer of off-road tyres, the recent additions to the product line-up means the company has one of the widest product ranges in its target segments. According to BKT, the company currently offers 1800 SKUs, with the bulk of products (62 per cent) presently concentrated in the agricultural segment. Industrial tyres account for 18 per cent, OTR for 17 per cent, with ATV and turf tyres taking up the remaining 3 per cent. Mr. Poddar confirmed the company has no plans to enter the on-road tyre market.

“We believe in focusing. We do not want to reduce our focus.” Europe continues to be the largest market for BKT, with 65 per cent of sales occurring here. The main European markets for the company are the UK, Spain, Germany, France, Italy and Benelux. Speaking of Europe, Mr. Poddar says, “we will further consolidate our position. To cater to OEMs we have established our office in Italy.” This office, the headquarters for BKT Europe, is led by managing director Mario Bernabai and is one of two offices the company has in Europe. The other is located in Staffordshire. The company’s next largest market is North America, although sales here are only a fraction of Europe’s. “America is untapped potential – only 15 per cent of our market share,” comments Poddar. “Very recently we established our office in Ohio.” Despite the company’s strong export focus, BKT remains, above all, a company proud of its firm grounding in India. “We believe in our country and are confident we can do much better than anyone else,” said Mr. Poddar. In its home market, despite pressure being felt by some manufacturers from the alleged dumping of cheap Chinese tyres, BKT has retained its firm position and continues to be strong in both OEM and aftermarket sales. “There has been a lot of talk about cheap Chinese imports arriving in India. We don’t consider these products to be competitors; we offer quality, service and the widest range.” In conclusion, Mr. Poddar states: “We do not sell only tyres. We sell a good quality tyre along with complete service backup – if any problem arises we take up the issue fast. We offer, in short, a full package and the widest range.”