BKT Tyres

Last year, BKT announced a $100 milion construction project for a new production site to serve the replacement market and OEMs in the USA. This new production site will be the multinational group’s first manufacturing site outside of India.

BKT also seeks to improve its European customer engagement having renovated its Europe headquarters in Seregno, Italy, recently, with a new interactive information and technology centre for specialized tyres, called the BKT Space. The new structure is equipped with an auditorium and training facilities for up to 50 people.

The BKT Space has been conceived as a metaphorical and real journey through the following themed rooms, letting visitors actively discover and experience the history, philosophy, values, products, challenges and the future of BKT.

BKT’s European subsidiary was founded in 2006 to oversee global strategic and operational marketing and communications functions for the entire BKT Group and manage OEM sales in Europe. Since then the European market has grown to represent 50% of BKT’s turnover, surpassing $900 million last year.

Rajiv Poddar, joint managing director, BKT, said: “The new European headquarters is BKT’s next step towards the ‘Next Level’, a carefully planned strategy for enhancing the presence of our brand and off-highway tires in Europe. Our aim is to understand the priorities and needs of our customers. We will be able to do it best at this new space, a totally innovative and technological work environment that we will use to demonstrate that we are capable of measuring up and even more.”

At bauma 2019, BKT Tires showcased its Earthmax range of specialised OTR radial tyres for rigid and articulated dump trucks, wheel loaders, dozers, graders and multi-purpose vehicles. The highlight of BKT’s offering was the Earthmax SR 46 of size 33.00 R 51, the largest ever built by the manufacturer. The tyre has a diameter of 3.06m, length of 0.89m and weight of 2,400kg. The Earthmax 46 has been designed for rigid dump trucks operating in harsh conditions, such as hard and rocky environments and mines.

BKT launched its first Earthmax model in 2008, and since then, the company has strategically moved towards expanding its ranges and sizes, and also developing solutions to increase performance in terms of traction, durability, safety and comfort. Three years ago, at bauma 2016, BKT launched the Earthmax SR45 Plus, an all-steel radial tyre for rigid dump trucks. The Earthmax brand has grown into a specialised range of radial tires designed to enable distribution of heavy loads on the ground.

Recently, at the Automechanika 2019 exhibition in Dubai, BKT launched a new size, the 12.00 R 24, for the Earthmax SR 423 tyre, which has been specifically engineered for tipper trucks and dumpers operating both on and off the road in the Middle East.
The tyre is already available in two other sizes 10.00 R 20 and 11.00 R 20 specifically developed for tipper trucks / dumpers employed in mining and transport operations under the most demanding conditions. The robust tread pattern with non-directional lugs provides excellent traction on any terrain. The large shoulder minimizes the risk of cuts and chips even under toughest operating conditions, and on adverse and inaccessible paths. The All Steel casing structure provides great resistance and durability leading to a longer product life-cycle.