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December 11, 2015 01:00 AM

BKT to add 51” size; ponders move to 57”

Bruce Davis
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    Tire Business photo by Bruce davis
    BKT's Bhuj, India, factory (shown here in model form) has 300,000-plus square feet under roof on a 300-acre site, which includes a power plant, steam generation plant and housing for 500-plus individuals.

    BHUJ, India (Dec. 11, 2015) — Balkrishna Industries Ltd.'s (BKT) steady move into the giant radial OTR sector will continue in 2016 with the addition of a 51-inch size, company officials disclosed during the recent ceremonial opening of the firm's $500 million Bhuj factory in northwest India.

    BKT's largest tire now is the 27.00R49, used in mining and quarry applications. The company has a dedicated tire building and curing area within the 313,500-sq.-ft. factory complex for the giant sizes. The plant can turn out three such tires a day, based on the current complement of equipment in this area.

    This existing building area can be adjusted to make the 51-inch sizes, according to Dilip M. Vaidya, president and director, technology. BKT sourced the dedicated building equipment for giant tires from Tianjin Siaxiang Technology Co. Ltd.

    BKT photo

    A sampling of OTR and industrial tires produced at BKT's Bhuj, India, plant.

    BKT also is evaluating the market for the possible development of a 57-inch size, Mr. Vaidya said, noting that the company calculates it would take about two years to develop and bring to market a tire of this size.

    Mumbai, India-based BKT does not see market conditions at this time as supporting such a decision, Mr. Vaidya said in a conversation with Tire Business during a media visit to Bhuj and Mumbai, but that management is monitoring the situation.

    BKT has set aside area within the Bhuj factory's confines for adding a building and curing area dedicated to the 57-inch project, he noted.

    The company has all but ruled out a move to add a 63-inch radial, he added, saying the market is not currently large enough to justify BKT's investing in this segment.

     

    Tianjin Siaxiang Technology Ltd. photo

    This TST-brand giant tire-building machine is similar to that in use at BKT's Bhuj plant for building 49-inch radial OTR tires. Tianjin Siaxiang Technology Co. Ltd. supplied BKT with its building equipment.

    Supporting the company's move into larger sizes and new applications will be a multi-story research and development center on land with the Bhuj OTR tire plant's 300-acre footprint, where it will focus on developing the firm's OTR tire range.

    The R&D assets include three testing wheels — 1.5, 3 and 5 meters in diameter — on site at Bhuj, Mr. Vaidya said, in addition to an outdoor testing facility for tractor and OTR tires.

    BKT broke ground on the Bhuj plant — built east of Bhuj in a desert area in Gujarat state — in January 2011 and produced the first pneumatic tire in March 2012. Output has ramped up to 150 metric tons per day now; nameplate capacity is more than twice that, officials said.

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