"Worldwide, the ‘radialisation’ of OTR tires has taken place, which is going to be future of it. The mining sector, globally, is witnessing a high demand for ‘all-steel radial’ tires, which can withstand the severity of extreme operational conditions in both surface and underground mining."
Q. What are the key factors driving the Indian OTR Tyre market?
India is one of the largest markets for OTR tires in the world forecasted to reach 15 Million Units by the end of 2023. All because of growing construction, mining, and agricultural activities coupled with increasing sales of OTR vehicles.
• Construction sector – growing infrastructure growth like road construction and connecting seaport will create rapid demand
• Mining sector – Coal mining has been the major activity in the country, and the privatization of coal mining has given a further push to mining activities. Similarly, demand for iron ore and other metal mining like zinc is expected to be a boom in the demand in this sector. Such with a vibrant mining segment, India will require technological advance tires to support the latest mining trucks and loaders
• Farm mechanization - Growing mechanization in the agricultural industry is further increasing demand for agriculture tires for vehicles such as tractors, mowers, dozers, etc. Along with the various government programs thereby increasing demand for agricultural tractors.
Q. How does the construction industry propel tire market growth?
The Govt. has unveiled a massive pipeline of construction and infrastructural projects. They include not just metros but also tier two and tier three cities, as well as strategies to strengthen the transportation industry. Increased construction of roads, highways, ports, airports, etc. in the country is responsible for the future growth of the Indian tire market.
Q. In what ways is the OHT tire industry evolving to the next growth step?
Gone are the days when tire manufacturers were only auto component suppliers, today the tire manufacturers are partners — to both vehicle/ equipment manufacturers and consumers. Working closely to create tires, that are durable, sustainable, and profitable. We need to remember that tires are connectors – they are the only source of direct contact between the ground and a vehicle. In the case of Agricultural tires, soil productivity, and long-term farming sustainability are directly linked to the tire design. How they’re made, how they look, and how they perform are changing.
While breakthroughs aren’t often in the tire industry, changes still are happening, no matter how incrementally. Additionally, as the equipment manufacturing industry evolves, tires must evolve accordingly. With the machinery becoming more high-tech, manufacturers are also creating off-highway tires with improved safety features. For instance, some Off-The-Road (OTR) tires come with embedded sensors that monitor tire pressure, temperature, or wear patterns in real time. This ultimately increases performance levels and ensures a safer experience for the operator.
BKT conducts a SPOTech (Satellite Performance Optimization Technology) analysis report on the OTR tires supplied by it, which collects data on haul truck activities by means of GPS systems, GoPro cameras, and accelerometers for improving productivity. Simultaneously, tire manufacturers are incorporating advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve tire performance, reduce downtime and enhance productivity.
In addition to working towards developing eco-friendly off-highway tires, tire manufacturers are making sure the entire manufacturing process is more sustainable.
Q. What have been the recent innovations by BKT in tire design and making in construction vehicles?
Maximizing productivity is one of the purposes of innovation and when we look at how OTR tire innovations have been around changing profiles to wider tires and larger rim diameters. You’ve got five more inches of width, approximately the same OD, and a shorter sidewall that gives you better torque delivery, better braking, and more stability.
That all contributes to greater productivity for the operator. Another critical factor is the tire compound. The push for higher load-carrying capacity and higher speeds is pushing innovations like stronger bonding materials within the casing to handle extra stress, and we’ve seen great advances in compounds that protect sidewalls in tough applications like underground mining.
At BKT, we pay great attention to developing products as a response to each territory’s most specific needs. We work with OEMs for their requirements, which undergo tremendous research like applications, underfoot conditions, the requirement of traction, etc., and based on that we provide them solutions.
Q. What are some of the emerging technology trends that will be seen in OTR tyres?
Worldwide, the ‘radialisation’ of OTR tires has taken place. The mining sector, globally, is witnessing a high demand for ‘all-steel radial’ tires, which can withstand the severity of extreme operational conditions in both surface and underground mining. However, in India, radialisation is still at its nascent stage.
The India OTR tire market is largely driven by demand for bias tires and the percentage of radial tires usages are limited to 20% to 25%. The introduction of new mining equipment by OEMs like Caterpillar and Komatsu is creating demand for all-steel radial tires in the mining segment and BKT is championing this trend by extensively supplying to international markets.
Q. What are your plans to increase the company’s market share in India?
In the mining segment, BKT has a wide range of earthmover tires, both for surface and underground mining, which will surely bring a major change in BKT’s growth in this segment. The recent development of 57” giant ultra-large earthmover tire has already created a vibration in the coal mining segment. In the construction and port segment, BKT aims to touch a 25% market share by the end of 2023. With technologically advanced ‘Commander’ tires, have already proven as the best bet for the Agri segment, and farmers across India. BKT has a larger market share in the growing agri segment.
Today, the company commands around 5- 6% market share globally with over 3200 SKU and exports to more than 160 countries – making BKT one of the major players in the market. To keep the growth to consistent, major investments are made in our core business - Tires, and carbon black - a new segment we have ventured into.
