In an email interaction with B2B Purchase Magazine, Prasanta Ganguly gives a glimpse of the company’s exclusive services and products, like the latest 32,000
SKUs, each offering something unique to the off-highway tyre market in an email interaction with B2B Purchase Magazine.

The company’s wide range of OHT ranges are created for specific applications in the mining and quarrying, industrial construction, and agricultural segments.

What are the present demand trends in the OTR segment, in lieu of the infrastructural developments?
Infrastructural development has been spearheading growth and economic development in India. In the budget announced by the government in February of this year, India will be expanding its national highways by 25,000 km, along with the development of four multimodal logistics parks, 100 cargo terminals, and eight ropeway projects under the Parvatmala scheme. The PM’s Gati Shakti National Master Plan being executed by the government includes infrastructural development of roads, railways, waterways, airports, ports, and logistics.

With mass infrastructural development being carried out simultaneously across various regions of the country and for various purposes, the demand for OTR industrial construction and port tyres is expected to grow exponentially. The need for efficient and modern construction equipment to meet the country’s infrastructural expansion has increased. In order to support the major developments happening, the market is experiencing a spike in demand for OTR tires.

Can you talk about the latest innovations happening in the OTR segment? Which sector is driving demand at large?
The OTR segment is clearly identified as a high-growth segment – both the industrial construction and mining segments. The market analysis has been helping the OTR industry to understand the needs of the customers and use innovation and technology to provide the best products. All-steel radial tires have been increasingly attracting everyone’s attention, particularly in the mining segment, as this segment continues to infuse technology to meet the growing demands for mining of coal, iron ore, zinc, etc.

The demand for coal has been increasing rapidly over the years across the country. Additionally, with the phased privatisation of the mining sector, the demand for all steel radial tyres will see major growth in the mining segment. especially for its superior technology, which delivers safety, reliability, and higher tyre life, thereby productivity.

How is your organisation touching upon its solid tyre market’s sustainability and eco-friendly aspects?
There is no doubt that the future passes through sustainability. BKTs’environmental sustainability has been certified by many acknowledgements. All BKT production plants as well as all tyre design and development processes are certified for quality according to ISO 9001:2015.

As the development of the best instruments for sustainable development continues, we at BKT have adopted environmentally friendly facilities and are searching for raw materials to limit the exploitation of our planet’s resources.

BKT is at the forefront of sustainable tyre manufacturing. We have entered into a joint research agreement with KULTEVAT Inc., a leading US biotechnology company, that specialises in the cultivation and processing of TKS Dandelion as a renewable and sustainable alternative to natural rubber, which has become a critical raw material. After a series of experiments, we will develop new compounding methods to be integrated into the tyre manufacturing process, and TKS Rubber will replace the use of natural rubber. The agreement involves a first project stage with several sample deliveries for lab research by October 2018, whereas stage two of the project provides the supply of one metric tonne of stabilised TKS Rubber by October 2019. In addition to lab optimisation and manufacturing process trials on all of our tyre ranges, we will also focus on compounding methods for the specific OTR segment.

We are developing high-performance compounds by using nano-materials, which ensure improved thermal and mechanical stability. Examples of this experimental research are graphene, nano clay, and carbon black.

What are your current offerings in this segment? Which sector are you focusing on the most?
We currently manufacture a range of over 32,00 SKUs, and each offer something unique to the off-highway tyre market. BKT’s wide range of OHT ranges are created for specific applications in the mining and quarrying, industrial construction, and agricultural segments. For mining customers, BKT has a wide offering of all steel radial tyres under the sub-brand The Earthmax.

• Under the earthmax range, BKT has rolled out an all-steel radial earthmover tyre for 240-ton Giant Rigid Dump Trucks 40.00R57 Earthmax E4 SR468 tire, which is the largest in BKT’s OHT product range and an import substitute
• Further development in the earthmax range is BKT’s SR53TL tire, an all-steel radial tyre created for ultra-large loaders.

We are continuing our developmental activities in all-steel radials in the mining segment to suit various mining machines in surface and underground mines. Our latest announcement, the MINEFORCE TL, a bias E-4 tire, is specifically curated for 60 & 1100- ton rigid dump trucks in the mining sector and limestone quarry belt in
particularly.

We will unveil our latest product offering in the mining segment at the IMME 22 exhibition to be held in November 2022 at Kolkata.

Can you talk about your strategic plans to increase exports of your product range?
We are currently focused on expanding our geographical footprint and strengthening our distribution channels within the Indian markets. Our R&D is focused on expanding our product portfolio to meet the demands of the market.