As per our experience – India is both price as well as quality sensitive.

– Ashok Chhajer

Sr. General Manager – OE Sales, BKT Tires

What is your focus at Excon this year?

As you know, we are always showcasing our latest product addition in our product basket at Excon. Maintaining that, we have displayed our CTL rubber tracks on our booth. Last year, we have introduced a rubber track for the combined application that is under the agriculture head and this year we have introduced CTL rubber tracks under construction equipment. These rubber tracks are meant only for specific applications and specific types of equipment.

What are the features of these rubber tracks?

The rubber track is exclusively developed and designed for a specific application. For example, Skid Steer Loader especially in the European countries are on the rubber tracks. Similarly, very high horsepower tractors are on rubber tracks. It is the application or the equipment design application combination put together that defines if the product needs a rubber track.

In India, rubber tracks are used very commonly for harvester applications, especially in paddy fields.

What motivated you to bring this product and what is the market size for this product?

Over the last few years, the applications industry for rubber tracks has grown enormously. We have seen a rise in the adoption of rubber tracks from the construction and agriculture sectors. To cater to this demand, we have launched BKT’s rubber tracks for Agricultural and Industrial machines. We recently started the production of rubber tracks for harvesting machines for paddy fields.The newly introduced rubber tracks, displayed at EXCON, are designed for compact track loaders.

The Rubber Track market was valued at 1050 Million USD in 2018 and is projected to reach 1920 Million USD by 2025, at a CAGR of 7.8% during the forecast period.

What is your market for this product?

The domestic market is too early to crack as Skid Steer Loader in India has no manufacturers which produce these machines for a rubber track. It is mainly for the export market.

Where is your export market?

Our export is worldwide with our presence in more than 163 countries and the export market share 80% of our total turnover.

What is your aftermarket for this product?

If you draw the total pie of BKT’s turnover – over 11% comes from the OEMs that include domestic as well as international OEMs and 89% is after-market.

What is your role in the domestic market?

From the last 5 – 6 years, our full thrust is also in the domestic market. Now with full power, we are focusing on the domestic agriculture market and additional the mining sector also.  Export ofconstruction and agriculture equipment has also gone up over the last couple of years where the maximum fitment is on BKT tires. So, all put together our domestic market share has gone up to 20%.

What are the steps you are taking for skilling your clients or customers and what trainings are provided to them?

BKT has a firm belief in training – in-house training, outdoor training, actually user’s training and fleet owner’s training – we are conducting various types of training as per requirements from clients and customers.

Indian market is very price centric compared to export market where they are focussed on quality things, but India is very price centered. How do you fight back from the CE industry’s point of view?

As per our experience – India is both price as well as quality sensitive. Also, in this same Indian market, you have customers who are interested in durability. They want equipment without any unplanned downtime. So it’s a combination in the Indian market.

There are corporate customers, who are not looking at the cost but at the safety features. They’re looking at the durability of the machine, or any have unplanned downtime and are ready to follow maintenance guidelines. On the other hand, there are customers from the hiring sector for whom these machines are the bread-earning machines and they are the ones who are more price sensitive. At, BKT, we are into higher focus on product quality.

What is your strategy for Indian market as your market share should have increased?

Yes, it has gone to 20% now. When we first entered, our market share was around 4 – 5% which was almost 18 years ago. But today, our market share is 20%.  We are an Indian manufacturer for the global market. We are actively participating in the “Make In India” concept.

What are the challenges you face in the industry?

Like other industries, we are also facing challenges. RM cost, inbound and outbound logistics cost, and availability of the raw material. We are a part of the industry and all these challenges are witnessed by each and every industry with rising fuel cost.

Can you shed some light on your manufacturing facility and how do you help in curbing pollution through your facility?

You need to go through our sustainability report. And you will come to know how serious we are carbon controls and carbon emissions.

At BKT, we care about the environment and the future, as we feel that we have a huge responsibility for coming generations. This is why we invest in many projects that enable us to significantly reduce the environmental impact of our production sites and of the tires we manufacture.

As a part of its philosophy and the group’s Corporate Social Responsibility, we have installed wind power plants, which enable the company to self-generate clean and renewable energy. The wind turbines generate 5 MW and contribute 50% of the energy needed to operate the production plant. Of course, government supply is always there, still for the reduction and optimization of energy consumption, solar plants have been installed on the roof of the plants. In addition, we have a fully captive power plant, in Bhuj to ensure an uninterrupted power supply.

Moreover, we use VFD (Variable Frequency Drive) mechanisms on the main engines to control frequency and voltage and so reduce energy consumption; along with energy-efficient pumps and motors. We have installed gas-fired boilers in place of coal-fired burners, which reduce air emissions.

Even our BKT Carbon Bhuj is a greenfield and an ‘energy positive’ plant with its unique energy management system. The cogen facility generates high-pressure steam and electricity, which caters to captive consumption.

We are meeting each and every emission norm.

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