JK Tyre rolls out 10 millionth TBR
JK Tyre and Industries Limited, part of the Rs 28000 crore JK Organisation, has become first Indian tyre company to produce 10 million truck/bus radial tyres. The landmark 10 millionth tyre came out of the mould at the company’s Vikrant plant in Mysuru. JK Tyre had taken over this plant from the Karnataka Government in the late 1990s. It was turned around into a state-of-the-art plant with an investment of over Rs 1200 crore.
Raghupati Singhania, CMD, JK Tyre said, “Starting in 1977, when we set up our first tyre plant in Rajasthan with 5 lakh annual capacity, JK Tyre has grown multifold. Over the years we have set up green field plants and expanded our capacities. We have even acquired plants across continents like the ones in Mexico. Recently 3 plants of Cavendish Industries in Uttarakhand was taken over to keep pace with the increase in demand of tyres in the domestic as well as global markets.”
In the over 7.18 lakh (2015-16) CV market in India, JK Tyre is a leader and it was the first company to introduce Truck and Bus Radial (TBR) tyres in 1999, and is today the largest producer in this category. JK Tyre is a multinational company with 12 plants globally with a future-ready capacity of 350 lakh tyres a year. After the recent Rs 2200 crore acquisition of Cavendish, JK Tyre has also entered the high growth two-and three-wheeler segment with its brand `Challenger’ already hitting the market.
“Today we manufacture complete range of tyres from a 3kg scooter tyre to the 3.7-tonne Ultra Large OTR tyre,” he said. JK Tyre has completed the second phase of construction of its modern and pure radial plant in Chennai with a total investment of Rs 1430 crore. The plant has a production capacity of 12 lakh TBRs and 45 lakh car radials. It can scale up to 2 million truck radials and 10 million car radials.
The company is expanding its Mexico plant. The capacity is expected to go up to 5 million tyres from the present 3.5 million units a year.