On 2 April 2024, BKT received Excellent Level certification from Caterpillar Inc. under its Supplier Excellence Recognition (SER) Process for the second consecutive year. The Excellent Level certification is the highest honour that Caterpillar Inc. bestows on suppliers, who consistently meet stringent production and quality requirements, under the SER Process.
Off-highway tyre specialist BKT emphasises that multiple factors come into play when choosing the most suitable tyres for specific applications. As tyres can significantly impact the overall performance, safety and cost of operations in industrial usage, BKT has published its tips for choosing the most suitable tyres for material handling equipment.
The LAMMA show returns to the NEC on 17 and 18 January, and once again Kirkby Tyres will be there. Occupying the same 225 square metres of exhibition space in Hall 9, the distributor is looking forward to showcasing its main and exclusive agricultural brands, including Alliance, BKT, MRL and Pirelli, and a new introduction to its portfolio – Maxam agricultural radial tyres.
Following independent field and laboratory testing, the German Agricultural Society (DLG) has given the BKT Agrimax V-Flecto its DLG Approved quality mark. The quality assurance organisation tested the BKT tyre in sizes VF650/65 R42 and VF540/65 R30 before granting the quality mark on the basis of its performance in the ‘Resources Protection’ and ‘User Friendliness’ test modules.
Visitors to next month’s Agritechnica show in Germany won’t be able to walk ten metres without the risk of tripping over farm equipment, but perhaps only one of the more than 2,400 exhibitors present will have brought more than 30,000 footballs with them. That exhibitor is off-highway tyre specialist BKT.
Kirkby Tyres’ investment in additional warehousing space at its central site in Speke, Liverpool over the past couple of years was recently completed, further extending its specialist mezzanine flooring facilities. This increase in warehousing footprint brings its total mezzanine facilities to 30,000 sqft. The space has been designed specifically to hold ATV and lawn & turf products. The wholesaler told Tyrepress that this has allowed it to invest in an increasing number of specialist sizes and deeper stock levels. The warehouse expansion project also included several sustainability measures recently recognised by ISO 14001 certification.
In addition to renewing its status as a partner to Euroleague Basketball, BKT Tires has become the title sponsor of the EuroCup championship. This new three-year Premium Partnership coincides with changes to the competition format. BKT will also continue to support EuroLeague as a Premium Partner and will promote its brand at both competitions’ games through in-arena, broadcast and social media platforms.
BKT has recommenced operations at its Bhuj facility in India after shutting down the plant on the evening of 13 June. Production stopped in Bhuj as a precautionary measure related to Cyclone Biparjoy, which hit the Gujarat coast late last Thursday.
After entering the tractor rubber track business last November with the launch of its Agriforce line, BKT is now expanding its rubber track portfolio to industrial and construction applications. It will market these products under the Multiforce name, with the first pattern being the Multiforce BK T91 for compact track loaders in material-handling applications.
A fortnight ago, BKT announced its aim of increasing production by around 67% and achieving an annual turnover of US$2 billion in 3 years. The company’s Bhuj facility in western India is key to these plans and will soon manufacture numerous new products, including off-highway truck tyres, agro-forestry radials, tracks and an expanded mining tyre portfolio. BKT shares news of these and other plans.
Balkrishna Industries Ltd. (BKT) has paid tribute to Dr Arup Saha Deuri, who was Head of Materials and Compound (R&D) at the company’s Bhuj plant and a renowned Indian rubber technologist. Dr Deuri passed away on 17 February 2023, at the age of 62, due to liver issues.
Off-highway tyre specialist BKT has quantified its growth ambitions, and the figures are ambitious. Tyrepress reported yesterday that the manufacturer’s capacity across all manufacturing facilities will reach 360,000 tonnes later in 2023. But BKT has big plans for its “most strategic plant” in Bhuj and has announced its goal of harnessing this facility to achieve annual tyre production of 600,000 tonnes in 3 years. It also intends for turnover of US$2 billion a year by the end of this period.
Late in 2021, BKT announced operations would continue at its 1988-inaugurated Waluj factory following the commissioning of a plant originally intended to replace it. A year down the track and BKT reverted to its initial plan and is now redirecting the capital expenditure of Rs 3.5 billion (£35.2 million; US$42.4 million) previously approved for modernising the old plant to the newer Waluj facility to “bring in economies of scale.”
The revamped BKT website is now live, and the off-highway tyre specialist wants us to know that it features some bells and more than a few whistles. Following an “in-depth restyling and redesign of the browsing experience,” BKT’s new online home at bkt-tires.com delivers a “comfortable and user-friendly environment for users” that offers “no lack of exclusive content, first-hand accounts and constantly updated information.”
BKT wants us to know that it is “ready” for electric mobility in the off-highway segment, and is denoting products it has tailored for such vehicles with a new E-Ready sidewall logo. E-Ready made its debut at last November’s SIMA exhibition in Paris on the Agrimaxfactor 70 series tractor tyre range, and BKT plans to gradually extend its use to all products in this category.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
Kirkby Tyres