KKR aiding ATG's green efforts

MUBAI, India (Aug. 21, 2015) — Alliance Tire Group is looking to leverage its ongoing environmental sustainability efforts for more “tangible cost savings” as part of a Green Portfolio Program (GPP) operated by its private equity owner, KKR Group.

KKR describes GPP as an “operational improvement program” that uses an environmental lens to assess critical business activities of KKR's participating private equity portfolio companies. KKR bought a controlling interest in ATG in April 2013, acquiring the undisclosed share from an affiliate of private equity firm Warburg Pincus.

ATG's management has worked with KKR and members of KKR Capstone — an independent team of operational executives who work exclusively with KKR portfolio companies — since 2013 to measure ATG's coal consumption energy usage and its scrap losses.

“We believe ATG is world-class in terms of its environmental sustainability efforts,” Sanjay Nayar, CEO of KKR India, said in a prepared statement. “We are thrilled that KKR and KKR Capstone could contribute analytical tools to complement ATG's ongoing sustainability efforts.

“The ability to measure environmental impact while producing tangible cost savings highlights is the foundation of the Green Portfolio Program,” he added.

ATG's initiatives to date center on reducing energy consumption and minimizing scrap waste and environmental impact at its tire plants in India and Israel, KKR said.

The factories in India, for example, have achieved zero liquid discharge and are using rainwater harvesting for water. Facilities in India and Israel have received or are in the process of obtaining ISO 140001 environmental management systems certifications.

In Israel, Alliance is switching the power generation station at its Hadera plant to natural gas from furnace oil, a change that will yield not only environmental benefits but also generate an estimated $450,000 in annualized cost savings, KKR said.

Over the latter half of 2014 into the first quarter of 2015, ATG cut coal consumption per ton of production by approximately 90 kilograms/ton, reduced steam consumption by 10 percent per ton and trimmed scrap waste by 4.3 percent.

ATG is a global tire maker that specializes in producing off-highway tires and caters primarily to the agricultural, forestry and construction industries.