Major Indian tire supplier Balkrishna Industries Limited (BKT) is to increase its focus on the Americas with a new US$100m production facility, its first in the USA.
The new factory, BKT’s sixth in total, will also be the firm’s first outside India and will serve not only the USA but the entire American region.
Currently, Europe is the company’s largest market, accounting for more than half of its overall turnover globally. However, the Americas are becoming increasingly significant to BKT business, which has led to the decision to establish a new wholly owned subsidiary company in the USA to increase tire production for the emerging market.
Annual production
The new manufacturing facility will have a yearly production capacity of about 20,000 of the firm’s MT product, which is used in vehicles across the off-highway segment.
Following approval by the board of directors, the decision was announced at the TIA Hall of Fame awards ceremony in Las Vegas on October 29.
Rajiv Poddar, joint managing director of BKT, said, “The project for the construction of a US tire manufacturing plant providing for a total capital expenditure of approximately US$100m is presently at its initial stage.
“We are now looking for an appropriate terrain, which will be defined by the end of this year, so that land acquisition will take place by the end of the first quarter 2019.”
Project completion is expected by March 31, 2021.
