BHUJ, India — Balkrishna Industries Ltd. (BKT) has manufactured the first radial agricultural tires at its 7-year-old plant in Bhuj and in six months expects to increase its annual manufacturing capacity there to 50,000 metric tons.
The new production capacity is part of a $257 million investment package to increase capacity at plants in India, including the large OTR factory in Bhuj and a new factory being built in Waluj.
The investment package includes $108 million to boost output of 51- and 57-inch OTR tires at the factory in Bhuj; $88 million to expand its capacity for carbon black by nearly 75% to 200,000 metric tons per year at the Bhuj factory complex; and $60 million for modernization, automation and technology upgrades at the Bhuj and Rahasthan factories.
Commissioning of production of the agricultural tires comes less than ayear after BKT initiated the expansion project at the at the 12-acre Bhuj site, where OTR tire production began in 2015.