Narain Karthikeyan, who in 2005 became India’s first-ever Formula 1 driver, has signed on as a JK Tyre brand ambassador. Commenting on the arrangement, Raghupati Singhania said the tyre maker was “delighted” to have Karthikeyan represent the JK Tyre brand in India.
Apollo Tyres shared last Friday that its senior management would take a pay cut in response to market pressures related to the coronavirus pandemic, and yesterday the team at JK Tyre & Industries announced similar measures.
The organisation representing India’s tyre makers has a new chairman, with KM Mammen being appointed to the role. Mammen, who is chairman and managing director of MRF Ltd., is joined in the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association’s (ATMA) leadership team by Anshuman Singhania as vice chairman. Singhania is a director at JK Tyre & Industries Ltd.
JK Tyre & Industries Limited has appointed Anshuman Singhania its new deputy managing director. Singhania, who has been a company director since March 2016, began in his new role on 9 September.
In June and July, J.K. Organisation company JK Credit & Finance acquired 50.003 per cent equity shares in Indian start-up Treel Mobility Solutions Pvt. Ltd. JK Tyre & Industries has now obtained 26 per cent equity in the smart tyre system specialist from its group sibling and rebranded Treel as a ‘JK Tyre Product’. JK Tyre paid Rs 59.8 million for its 26 per cent share in Treel; JK Credit & Finance continues to hold 24.003 per cent in the company.
JK Tyre & Industries has entered the Limca Book of Records – India’s answer to Guinness World Records – for having the country’s largest OTR tyre. This colossus is the VEM 045, a tyre that in size 40.00-57 stands 12 feet tall and weighs around 3.4 tons. JK Tyre introduced this specific tyre dimension as a fitment for India’s biggest rigid dump truck, a vehicle with a payload capacity of up to 240 tons.
On 14 June JK Tyre & Industries Ltd inaugurated the first JK Retread Centre in Pokhara, Nepal. The new retread centre adds is part of JK’s bid in line with ambition to open 100 centres by 2020. Ultimately the goal is to provide cradle-to-grave solutions to customers.
Indian manufacturer JK Tyre was reportedly one of three large companies that forked out nearly £16 million in sponsorship in order to see the Jordan F1 team hire Narain Karthikeyan. In fact, “money was really not a consideration” when it comes to F1 sponsorship, the company told the AFP news agency.
