bauma CONEXPO is returning after a gap of almost four years. What has been the past experience at the event?
We are very excited to be participating in bauma CONEXPO INDIA 2023 after the pandemic hiatus. Bauma CONEXPO India is one of the powerful platforms that allows industry leaders to come together and exhibit the latest technology within the construction and mining industry. It encourages and provides a space for innovation, technological solutions, and digital integration. We have regularly participated in this event as it allowed us to interact with our buyers and customers and understand their needs and demands while displaying our best technology and getting an insight into what trends are shaping the future of these sectors.

What are the key products on display during bauma CONEXPO? Explain in detail.
This year at Bauma CONEXPO, we are launching new ‘Made of India’ tyres for the infrastructure, construction, and mining sector. Like all BKT products, the new tyres under the EARTHMAX series stem from the continuous feedback shared by users. We have conducted a deep analysis of the market and delved head-first into developing and designing the latest and most effective products for the construction and mining industry. We have been championing the motto ‘Right Tyre for Right Application’ and with research, top-notch technology, a highly-abled product development team, and an excellent team of engineers, we have worked on various products for the mining and construction industry.

At bauma CONEXPO, we will showcase class-leading product solutions that exhibit world-class innovation in design, performance, efficiency, and reliability.

With the Indian government now fast-tracking infrastructure projects, the CE sector is expected to get increasingly busy.

How do you look at the market for your products in India?
With India’s focus on infrastructural development, we are predicting steady growth in demand for tyres from the construction sector for the coming few years. The Indian market is growing at a rapid rate and is providing opportunities to grow our footprint. We too are developing India-centric products, be it for Mineforce for the mining sector or Commander series for the agricultural sector, or the to-be-launched additions to the Earthmax series. We have more than 1100 SKUs dedicated to the Indian markets, which are created with a keen focus on quality, which is our top priority. This applies to all our products across the world, to all our systems and services. What bears testimony to this fact is the acceptance that BKT tyres have found amongst high-quality conscious European and American users.

We are continuously investing in our R&D teams to understand the increased demand and needs of the OTR sector and to design new and innovative products with the latest technology that cater to the changing needs of the OTR sector.

What are the various challenges faced in the sector you are in?
As other industries, we too have been battling the surge in the cost & availability of raw materials, rising fuel costs, and the inbound & outbound logistics costs due to the war. However, we are well placed and all geared up to take on these challenges and have managed to overcome them with a strong strategy in place.

Please share more information on the investment made in the Indian market in terms of the manufacturing facility, etc.

As you know, BKT tyres are entirely ‘Made in India’. Over the years, we have not only increased production plants in number and size, but we have also intensified and diversified operations and processes.

As of today, we have 5 manufacturing plants all in India. Two of those are in Maharashtra - Aurangabad in Waluj, our first production plant, was inaugurated back in 1988, and spread across 43 acres & with an installed capacity of 170MT. Our other two plants are in Rajasthan. The Bhiwadi plant was set up in 2001, with an installed capacity of 175MT on 15 acres of land. The second plant is in Chopanki, which was opened in 2005, and is spread across 25 acres of land with an installed capacity of 190MT. Our latest plant is based in Bhuj, Gujarat, which was launched in 2011 and is spread across 450 acres with an installed capacity of 675MT.

In all, we have a total install production capacity of 200,000 MTPA of specialized mobility solutions, which are exported to more than 160 countries worldwide. In addition to 1 mould plant and 1 carbon manufacturing unit, which gives us major autonym thus reducing dependability on the third party. We even have three R&D centers – one in Chopanki and two in Bhuj.

How was the year 2022 in terms of performance?
Our performance in 2021-22, demonstrates the outcome of our long-term strategy to capitalise on our increasing scale while, at the same time, maintaining business agility. We reported strong revenues of Rs 8,697 crore and volumes of 2,88,795 MTPA, both growing annually by 46 per cent and 27 per cent respectively. Exports account for 83 per cent of our sales out of which 54 per cent is Europe, 17 per cent is the US and the rest of the world is 12 per cent. The remaining 17 per cent is domestic sales. We continued to remain the preferred choice of our customers and we further aim at maintaining leadership in product quality.

What is your company's outlook for 2023?
After facing almost two years of adversity due to the Covid pandemic, we are very optimistic about the growing demand for tyres particularly in the OHT segment despite current adversities like supply chain bottlenecks and unprecedented increases in freight. More so, considering the increased demand from the agriculture, infrastructure, construction, and mining industry, we see a continual development for replacement and OEM tyres with improved market share.