BKT has added to its Ridemax range with the release of a second Ridemax FL 699 size. The new 525/65 R 20.5 tyre is intended for fitment on agricultural trailers and tank trucks and complements the existing 24 R 20.5 size.
Off-highway tyre specialist BKT reassures its partners and customers that, despite the worrying news from India of late, it has worked hard to protect both its workforce and production. In response to the messages of concern the BKT team in India have received from around the world, the tyre maker expresses thankfulness that so many people have been in contact and are worrying about people’s health and safety.
BKT has become presenting sponsor of the LGT World Women’s Curling Championship. Contested on 30 April at the Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Canada, the World Curling Federation event is the second to receive BKT sponsorship; the OTR and agricultural tyre manufacturer was the title sponsor of the World Men’s Curling Championship in Calgary between 2 and 11 April. BKT said the number of curling enthusiasts has grown significantly worldwide over the last two years and the sport is particularly popular in key markets for the brand, like Canada’s rural population.
BKT is introducing a new range for loaders and telehandlers that operate in road maintenance or waste material applications. It says it specifically developed the all-steel radial BKT Skid Max SR-Skidder for use in “extremely heavy work environments and on hard surfaces.”
The ETRTO (European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation) has appointed Denis Piccolo chairman of its agriculture sub-committee. In this role the product manager for off-highway tyre specialist BKT is tasked with consolidating the ETRTO’s position and official feedback on requests regarding agricultural tyres. He is also responsible for the data published in the Technical Manual (Standard Manual) and in Engineering Design Information, which contain ETRTO’s official indications for the agricultural sector.
The BKT off-highway tyre range now includes more than 2,700 SKUs. A recent addition to the BKT portfolio is the Earthmax SR 412, which the tyre maker first announced in the middle of last year. This tyre for articulated dump trucks, loaders and dozers is now available in two sizes, 29.5 R25 and 750/65 R25.
Specialist off-highway tyre maker BKT has gained ISO/IEC 17025:2017 certification for the tyre testing and calibration capabilities within the laboratory at its Bhuj plant in India’s Gujarat state. Certification was awarded by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) according to international standards.
Doubts have surrounded the future of Balkrishna Industries (BKT)’s plans to establish a factory in the USA for the past two and a half years, and now the company has officially ended the project. This decision was agreed upon during a board meeting on Monday.
A further three sizes are joining the BKT V-Flexa range. In addition to the VF 600/55 R 26.5 agricultural trailer tyre that debuted at the Agritechnica show in November 2019, the V-Flexa is now available in sizes VF 600/65 R 26.5, VF 650/55 R 26.5 and VF 560/60 R 22.5.
Balkrishna Industries set up its BKT Carbon subsidiary at the same time as establishing a carbon black plant at its main tyre production site in Bhuj, India. This facility can now produce 140,000 tonnes of carbon black each year. BKT Carbon is responsible for this production as well as global carbon black sales, and now has its own dedicated website: www.bkt-carbon.com.
Agrimax V-Flecto is the flagship tyre within the BKT agricultural range, and BKT is broadening its application with the addition of four further sizes. One dimension – VF 710/70 R 42 – is already available and will soon be joined by VF 750/70 R 44, VF 710/75 R 38 and VF 710/55 R 38 tyres. Their introduction will increase the range to 22 sizes in total.
BKT has set up one of the first-ever contactless E-ICU, COVID-19 treatment facilities to be built in India outside of a hospital. The centre is located at the tyre maker’s Bhuj site, and its doctor and eight healthcare workers are responsible for treating workers and their families affected by coronavirus.
Following a corona-related delay, off-highway tyre specialist BKT is gearing up to introduce a new, supersized OTR tyre. It has now produced a prototype of its BKT Earthmax SR 468, a size 40.00 R57 tyre developed for use on rigid dump trucks. Over the coming months, the tyre maker’s engineers will test the prototype ahead of the line’s market debut.
BKT’s title sponsorship of French football has increased its brand awareness according to new data compiled for the off-highway tyre specialist. The CSA Research panel found that brand awareness has reached 17 per cent among football fans following two years title sponsorship of the Coupe de la Ligue BKT.
26 journalists with expertise in agricultural mechanisation are currently judging contenders for the European Tractor of the Year (TotY) award. Sponsor of the award, off-highway and agricultural tyre specialist BKT, says the details on innovations presented by entrants forms “the identikit of the perfect tractor.” The futuristic developments now available from many equipment manufacturers represent in their totality a vision for what will be possible in a single machine, BKT says. These innovations include data connectivity and digitalisation, high-tech safety features, increased sustainability, and autonomous driving, as well as tyres that assist in delivering such improvements in the field. The TotY sponsor calls its role “certainly the richest experience of 2020.”
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Curling Canada/ michael burns photo