India's enormous potential in minerals and metals adds to the country's allure.

Prasanta Ganguly,
Head - OTR Marketing (Domestic Sales), Balkrishna Industries (BKT)

What is your overview on the Indian mining scenario?

India's mining industry has the potential to significantly impact GDP growth, and foreign exchange earnings, and give end-use industries like building, infrastructure, automotive, and electricity, among others. With robust domestic demand and rising interest among global manufacturers to relocate plants to India, there is a terrific opportunity to emerge as a global hub for manufacturing. India's enormous potential in minerals and metals adds to the country's allure.  

What are the emerging trends in enhancing efficiency and productivity in mining?

Both efficiency and productivity in mining are crucial for optimizing operations. From the perspective of tire manufacturers serving the mining industry, we see emerging trends and technologies in the field of Tire Technology - where we are continually developing and improving our technology to make tires more durable, heat-resistant, and suitable for challenging mining environments. This includes the use of specialized compounds, reinforced sidewalls, and tread patterns designed for specific mining applications such as the BKT MINEFORCE, which is developed specifically for the Indian mining sector.

Additionally, as mining equipment becomes technologically more advanced, there is a growing trend for larger and more powerful machines to handle increased loads of ores and overburden using ultra-large tire sizes like 240-ton dump trucks fitting 40.00R57 E4 Earthmax to face challenging mining conditions.

New age technology is another trend we see in the mining sector such as Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) technology, which assists in maintaining optimal tire pressure for tire longevity and fuel efficiency. These systems provide real-time data on tire pressure and temperature, helping operators avoid under-inflation or over-inflation. Also, this data can be used to implement predictive maintenance strategies, allowing mining companies to replace tires at the right time to maximize their lifespan.

These emerging trends in tire manufacturing are geared toward helping mining companies in India and around the world maximize the performance and lifespan of their tires, reduce downtime, and improve overall efficiency and productivity in their operations. Tire manufacturers are essential partners in the mining industry's quest for optimal equipment performance and cost control.

How is BKT contributing to the emerging needs of mining operations? What are the latest products and solutions?

BKT is known for its specialty tires, and it has been working on various products and solutions to address the emerging needs of mining operations. Since the mining industry is dynamic and ever-evolving, BKT continually innovates to meet the changing demands and challenges faced by mining operations.

We recently introduced MINEFORCE TL, a bias E-4 tire, specifically curated for rigid haul trucks in limestone quarry and coal mining operations.

How is the demand scenario of mining tires in India in terms of bias and radials?

Traditionally, bias-ply tires were more commonly used in the mining industry, however, there has been a global shift towards radial tires in the mining sector because they offer several advantages, including better traction, longer lifespan, and improved fuel efficiency. In India, this shift towards radial tires is still at a nascent stage, however, it is driven by the desire for improved performance and cost savings.

What is the share of OEM and aftermarket?

The demand for mining tires in the OEM and aftermarket segments can vary based on economic and market conditions. In India, as in other countries, the OEM segment typically involves tire sales directly to mining equipment manufacturers for new machines. The aftermarket segment includes replacement tires for existing mining equipment. The relative share of OEM and aftermarket sales can be influenced by factors such as mining equipment sales trends, maintenance practices, and economic factors.

What are your plans for increasing the market share of mining tires in India?

In the mining segment, BKT has a wide range of earthmover tires, both for surface and underground mining, which will surely bring a major change in BKT's growth in this segment. The recent development of 57” giant ultra-large earthmover tire has already created a vibration in the coal mining segment.

Today, the company commands around 5-6% market share globally with over 3,200 SKUs and exports to more than 160 countries - making BKT one of the major players in the market. To keep the growth consistent, major investments are made in our core business - Tires, and carbon black - a new segment we have ventured into.

We understand the importance of staying ahead in the evolving technological landscape of the sector, and we are investing heavily in research & development to bring innovative solutions to our customers. Our goal is to provide them with the best-in-class products that are not only efficient and reliable but also eco-friendly.

We are continuously marching ahead to explore incremental opportunities in the form of developing 'Ultra Large Earthmovers & Mining Radial Tires' markets and also taking advantage of the shift from bias to radial tires, which is growing continuously. In order to take advantage of this opportunity, we have set up an All-steel OTR Radial tire plant in addition to Ultra Large tire size and have further added such capacities at our Bhuj plant.

We are confident that our commitment to innovation and technology will continue to drive our growth and success in the future.