BKT to Construct $100 Million U.S. Tire Production Facility

Balkrishna Industries Limited (BKT), a leading off-highway tire manufacturers headquartered in India, announced a $100 milion construction project for a new production site to serve not only the US markets but the entire American region. This new production site will be the multinational group’s first manufacturing site outside of India.

Europe is presently BKT’s largest sales market accounting for more than half of the company’s overall turnover. Yet, the Americas are becoming an increasingly expanding market. The more than positive outlook led to the decision to establish a new wholly-owned  U.S. subsidiary company to set up a greenfield project for the construction of a new tire manufacturing plant in the U.S. designed for a yearly production capacity of about 20,000 MT in the off-highway tire segment. Target markets are the replacement market and OEMs. The remaining tire demand will still be catered for directly from India.

The project has been approved by the Board of Directors and was announced on the occasion of the TIA Hall of Fame Award Ceremony in Las Vegas on  October 29, 2018. The prestigious award was received by Mr. Rajiv Poddar, Joint Managing Director of BKT, on behalf of his father, Mr. Arvind Poddar, Chairman and Managing Director of BKT, who disclosed the company project in a video message.

The construction project for the new tire manufacturing plant is presently in its initial stage. The company is looking for an appropriate location, which will be defined by the end of this year, with the land acquisition anticipatedby the end of the first quarter 2019. Project completion is expected by March 31, 2021.