Established in the West Midlands in 2012, GB Tyres has reportedly become one of the fastest-growing tyre importers and exporters in Europe. Nevertheless, despite its large and growing size, the business is still family-run and puts customer service at the heart of its ethos. The business offers a wide range of commercial vehicle tyres in stock. In fact, GB Tyres boasts one of the largest stocks of commercial vehicle tyres across Europe.
The first phase capacity expansion of JK Tyre & Industries’ Banmore plant in Madhya Pradesh, India is now complete. An investment of Rs 3.12 billion (£30.1 million) has lifted capacity for passenger car radials by 31 per cent, to 5.1 million tyres per annum. An additional investment of Rs 6.17 billion (£59.5 million) will increase capacity by an additional 31 per cent by April 2024.
On 13 June, JK Tyre & Industry announced the opening of its European Technology Centre in Milan, Italy. The team in Milan will work closely with the team at JK Tyre’s Global Technology Centre in India and the company’s satellite R&D Centre in Mexico, according to company representatives. JK Tyre reports that it exports tyres to more than 100 countries so the task of the technology centre will be to “support product development for worldwide sites in OEM and replacement markets”.
A couple of weeks after Apollo Tyres unveiled car tyres containing 75% sustainable materials, JK Tyre & Industries has seen Apollo’s 75 and raised it 5. The company has produced a passenger car radial with 80% recycled and renewable materials – and says it will offer such a range “in due course.”
World Bank Group member IFC is investing US$30 million in JK Tyre & Industries. These funds will part-finance the expansion of capacities and integration of resource-efficient technologies into TBR & PCR manufacturing, leading to a more than 10% increase in radial tyre production. IFC gains a 5.6% stake in the tyre maker.
At the start of 2022, several sources on social media shared a chart suggesting that Apollo Tyres is the biggest tyre manufacturer by market share. And what’s more, Michelin was nowhere to be seen. “Don’t believe every meme you see” is great advice for everyone, but for us “check your sources” is a basic rule of thumb. So, we had to take a closer look at those market share claims and found that, while there’s no smoke without fire and they do relate some truth, there is also a fair bit more to the story.
Promoted by JK Tyre since its inception, the Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) and Indian Motorcycle of the Year (IMOTY) awards took place for the 18th time in New Delhi on 12 January. Dr Raghupati Singhania, chairman and managing director of JK Tyre & Industries Limited, was on hand to present accolades to this year’s winners, a list of worthies that includes the KIA Carens as ‘Indian Car of the Year 2023’ and the Royal Enfield Hunter as ‘Indian Motorcycle of the Year 2023’.
According to Dr Sawar Dhanania, chairman of the Government of India’s Rubber Board, natural rubber production within the country “will not be sufficient to meet the consumer industry’s demands” in coming years. He thus sees an “urgent need” to increase the area under rubber cultivation, something that tyre makers are helping to achieve via the NE-MITRA project.
The flagship company of JK Organisation and one of the world’s 25 largest tyre manufacturers, JK Tyre has been spearheading technological developments and innovations since its inception. The company claims market leadership in India’s truck and bus radial segment and currently has capacities to produce 3.7 million TBR tyres per annum.
India’s anti-dumping duties on Chinese-made TBR tyres are scheduled to expire this month, but tyre association ATMA requested a review of these on behalf of Apollo Tyres, JK Tyre & Industries and MRF. The Directorate General of Trade Remedies published the results of this Sunset Review on 16 September, recommending the government continue charging duties for a further three years.
JK Tyre & Industries Limited has appointed Anuj Kathuria to the role of President (India). Based in Delhi, Mr Kathuria reports to Dr Raghupati Singhania, the company’s chairman and managing director, and managing director Anshuman Singhania.
Midlands-based wholesaler GB Tyres has grown rapidly despite the challenges of lockdown and logistics during the last couple of years. Indeed, GB Tyre’s annual turnover has skyrocketed from £3 million in 2016 to full-year 2022 predictions of £50 million. Considering the company was only established in 2013, it is fair to say the business has grown to become one of the fastest growing importers and exporters of commercial vehicle tyres in Europe. Tyres & Accessories met up with commercial director Graham Hutchinson to find out more.
JK Tyre & Industries intends to significantly increase its capacity to produce passenger car tyres. During an earnings call this month, managing director Anshuman Singhania confirmed that the tyre maker’s Board of Directors has approved an Rs 5.3 billion (£54.0 million) expansion of PCR capacity at its Banmore plant. Along with a recently commissioned debottlenecking programme, this will increase PCR capacity there by 35 per cent from its current level of around 9 million tyres per annum.
Yesterday the Competition Commission of India (CCI) finally made public the news that back in 2018 it found five tyre makers and India’s tyre industry association guilty of contravening the provisions of India’s Competition Act by indulging in cartel activities in 2011 and 2012. All protagonists have been fined for their actions.
JK Tyre CFO Sanjeev Aggarwal is making margin improvement in the face of inflationary pressures a top priority, according to a recent interview with India’s Economic Times newspaper. And therefore the company will pass on raw material price increases to its customers.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
GB Tyres