BKT Visions Global Growth Through Sustainability and Manufacturing Excellence
As a leading off-highway tyre manufacturer, BKT continues to strengthen India’s role in global manufacturing through advanced production capabilities, innovation, and sustainable practices. In this interview, BKT discusses industry trends, infrastructure-driven demand, technological advancements, and its strategic roadmap for long-term growth and market leadership.
How is BKT strengthening India’s position as a global manufacturing hub?
BKT is firmly committed to the Make in India vision, for India and for the world. We have established four world-class manufacturing facilities in India that supply tyres to more than 163 countries. Our plants are designed to meet global standards in technology, automation, and sustainability, enabling us to supply high-quality tyres to both domestic and international markets. India remains our strategic manufacturing hub, with products exported worldwide across construction, mining, material handling and industrial segments.
BKT operates state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Waluj, Bhiwadi, Chopanki and Bhuj, with the Bhuj serving as our flagship plant in India. These facilities together produce a wide range of off-highway tyres. The Bhuj facility, spread over 258 acres, includes a dedicated R&D center, testing track, and advanced compounding capabilities. We are also enhancing our capabilities by installing additional machinery and advanced systems to boost our capacity for our on-road segment. BKT continues to invest in capacity expansion, automation, green energy, and product diversification to meet the growing global demand.
What key trends are driving demand for off-highway tyres worldwide?
The OTR tyre market is experiencing strong growth globally, driven by rising mechanization across mining, construction, material handling, and infrastructure sectors. Major industry trends include the adoption of advanced materials, smart tyre technologies, sustainability-led manufacturing practices, and a growing preference for premium long-life tyres that lower the total cost of ownership. Tyre manufacturers are increasingly focusing on advanced rubber compounds and improved tread designs that enhance cut resistance and traction on rough terrains, collectively redefining the competitive landscape and elevating global benchmarks for reliability and efficiency in the off-highway tyre industry.
Sustainability is also emerging as a key priority worldwide, driving a stronger focus on longer-lasting tyres and the adoption of more environmentally conscious materials and processes. Alongside this, a significant shift is underway from traditional bias-ply tyres to advanced radial construction, which offers lower rolling resistance, better fuel efficiency, longer tread life, improved heat dissipation, and superior traction, making it the preferred choice for demanding off-highway applications globally.
How is the construction and infrastructure boom influencing the tyre industry?
India’s construction and infrastructure sector is witnessing unprecedented growth, with government-led investments in highways, smart cities, logistics corridors, and rural development creating significant demand for high-performance OTR tyres. There are large-scale national development projects being undertaken and rising equipment demand are directly fuelling growth in the OTR tyre market, making infrastructure one of the most important demand drivers for the industry today. With strong government initiatives supporting infrastructure, agriculture, and mining under the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, we foresee a strong and sustained upward trajectory for the industries we serve.
What role does innovation play in developing high-performance specialty tyres?
Innovation lies at the heart of BKT’s product development, guiding every aspect of our design and manufacturing process. Our tyres integrate advanced technologies to ensure superior performance, durability, and extended service life. Our radial tyre range is engineered to deliver uniform wear and enhanced heat dissipation, helping maximize productivity, reduce downtime, and extend equipment longevity in demanding operating environments.
What truly differentiates BKT is our strong foundation of vertical integration, which gives us complete control over quality and innovation at every stage of production. From in-house carbon black manufacturing to our mold and drum production units and state-of-the-art R&D facilities, this integrated ecosystem allows us to achieve consistency, efficiency, and faster innovation cycles. Co-creation is also central to our approach. Guided by our ‘Growing Together’ philosophy, we work closely with OEM partners to design tyres tailored to specific machinery and applications. These field-level insights directly support our application-specific design process across more than 3,600 SKUs, enabling us to continuously refine tread patterns, compounds, and construction types to meet evolving industry requirements.
From raw material formulation to the finished tyre, every step is driven by precision engineering and sustainability, resulting in products that consistently deliver reliability and long-term value for our customers.
How is BKT addressing sustainability in tyre manufacturing?
Sustainability is at the core of BKT’s long-term strategy, inspiring innovation across both our products and manufacturing processes. Through ongoing R&D, we are steadily increasing the use of renewable materials and replacing petrochemical components in our tyres with sustainable alternatives. In FY 2024-25, 32% of our raw materials were renewable. Alongside these material innovations, we have enhanced resource efficiency, increased renewable energy usage, recycled over 98% of process waste, and reduced dependence on non-renewable energy sources.
Carbon black is a critical raw material, making up nearly 30% of a tyre’s composition. To ensure a stable, high-quality supply, BKT established its own carbon black manufacturing facility at our flagship plant in Bhuj. The plant operates as a zero-liquid-discharge facility with complete water recycling, while ongoing initiatives in reclaimed rubber, recycled steel, and reused feedstock further reinforce our commitment to circularity.
The integration of tyre and carbon black production at our Bhuj facility strengthens sustainability, operational efficiency, and supply chain reliability. A pneumatic transfer system has replaced bulk bags, eliminating nearly 100,000 bags per year, reducing energy use by up to 70%, and cutting over two million kilograms of CO2 annually, while enhancing automation and worker safety.
By harnessing renewable energy, optimizing production processes, and developing sustainable materials, we minimize our environmental footprint while maintaining the quality, reliability, and efficiency that define every BKT product.
What challenges do equipment operators face in demanding sectors such as mining and construction?
Mining and construction work takes place in highly demanding environments where tyre performance directly impacts productivity, safety, and operational costs. Choosing the right tyre begins with understanding the terrain and ensuring that load capacity is correctly matched to the equipment’s gross vehicle weight rating. Operating in harsh conditions with heavy loads increases the risk of tyre damage and unplanned downtime, which can significantly affect project timelines and operational efficiency.
To address these challenges, BKT’s tyres are engineered using advanced compounds and technologies that deliver maximum traction, minimize downtime, and optimize fuel efficiency, ensuring construction and mining machinery operates at peak performance across demanding applications. Our commitment to strong after-sales support further helps operators maximize product utilization, reduce downtime, and achieve meaningful cost savings. For us, tyres are not just components; they are performance enablers that empower customers to achieve higher productivity, lower operating costs, and lasting operational excellence.
What are BKT’s strategic priorities for growth over the next five years?
BKT has outlined a clear roadmap for long-term growth through its Vision 2030 strategy, with the objective of increasing revenue to approximately INR 23,000 crore by FY2030. This growth will be driven through three strategic pillars: strengthening our leadership in the Off-Highway Tyre segment, expanding our presence in new tyre categories within India, and scaling our Carbon Black business.
Our growth strategy for FY30 is built on three key revenue pillars: 70% from the Off-Highway Tyre (OHT) business, 10% from scaled-up third-party carbon black sales, and 20% from new verticals with our entry into the Truck & Bus Radial (TBR) segments and Passenger Car Radial (PCR) in the future. With this blend of market diversification, product excellence, and deeper vertical integration, we remain agile, leverage our global strengths, and continue delivering meaningful value as the industry evolves. With strong government initiatives supporting infrastructure, agriculture, and mining, we foresee significant growth, and a strong upward trajectory for the industries.