7/31/2019 Bktspecialreport Augsept 10 Tyreasia 100921053346 Phpapp01
1/856 POLYMERS &TYRE ASIA AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010
SPECIAL REPORT
ReseaRch-dRivenBKTmaRKeTleadeR
56 POLYMERS &TYRE ASIA AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010
7/31/2019 Bktspecialreport Augsept 10 Tyreasia 100921053346 Phpapp01
2/8
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010 POLYMERS &TYRE ASIA 57
herever there are off-highway tyre
requirements, there will be BKT. It has
presence in most parts of the world. And
it is continually enlarging its global market
share. Despite recession and high raw
material costs, including that of rubberand carbon black, the Mumbai-based
company is able to maintain healthy
bottom lines because of its unassailable
market leadership in all tyre segments it
is in.
BKTs success story revolves around
innovative off-highway tyre (OHT)
development that is driven by quality,
competitive pricing, worldwide distribution
networks and service backups. It is one
of the few companies in the niche tyre
segment that spends 3-5% of the revenue
on research and development.BKTs ability to work from concept to
manufacturing in the shortest possible
time has made it the fastest product-
to-market industry leader. It has the
R&D, technological and manufacturing
capabilities to come-up with OHT solutions
for markets, whose footprint criss-crosses
115 countries. And it is still growing.
BKT produces 140,000 tonnes of tyres a
year at its three state-of-the-art factories
with 95% of the output shipped to the
highly-competitive export markets. Of
this 60% go to Europe and the rest to theAmericas, Middle East, Asia, Africa and
Oceania. With the opening of dedicated
BKT-North America Operations in Akron,
Ohio, it has expanded its considerable
presence in the US, Canada and Mexico
markets.
BKTs OHTs for agriculture, industry,
construction, earthmoving, all terrain,
lawn and garden vehicles are the
preferred choice because of its wide-
range, quality and price. It produces tyres
from 400 grams to 1700 kgs in rim sizes
of 5 inches to 51 inches. It is the preferredchoice of OEMs in agriculture machinery
such as John Deere, CNH, SDF, VALTRA
and in the industrial and construction
sector for equipment makers such as JCB,
Dynapac, Volvo and SAKAI.
BKTs production exibility has enabled
it to develop incredible market agility to
respond to consumer-focussed demand
any time anywhere in the world. It
produces conventional cross-ply tyres as
well as the most sophisticated polyesterradials, all-steel OTR radials and aramide-
belted run-at military application tyres.
From agriculture farms to deep mines,
BKT tyres are on a roll on the back of
customer condence it has built over the
years. It delivers quality products to the
exact customer requirements.
We have the engineering skills and
market sensitivity to turn out products
that the customer wants, says Vice-
President and Managing Director Arvind
Poddar. What we have is a unique mix
of market insight, in-house design studio
and mould shop, management focus
and resource allotment to new product
developments with competent teams to
carry out all these, he told Polymers &
tyre Asia.
BKT is a part of the Indian industrial
conglomerate, Siyaram-Poddar Group with
sales in excess of US$550 million. It has
presence in textiles, paper, garments and
tyres.
BKT manufactures Off-Highway tyres
(OHT) at three plants, including thenewest one in Chopanki on the borders
of Haryana and Rajasthan which opened
in 2006. It also owns a mould shop for
manufacturing its own moulds. Its fourth
plant in Gujarat state is expected to come
on stream in 2011.
Customer driven
BKTs greatest growth comes from its
best-selling tractor radial tyres Agrimax
that are in high demand as they cater to
modern farming practices. We offer a
complete range of farm radials in different
series and aspect ratios, Poddar said. Infact it has tyres for almost all conceivable
OHT applications that are developed in
line with customer demand.
He explained that the company has
built a powerful brand in the niche
OHTs segment that is boosted through
consistent delivery of quality products.
BKT is a trend-setting brand that is today
well-accepted globally, he said. It is its
wide-range of OHTs tyres that is mostappealing to different customers. The
company has 1800 stock keeping units
(SKUs) or tyre ranges - one of the highest
in the industry.
BKTs market leadership only added to
its responsibility to constantly track the
needs of its growing customer base, said
Poddar. All its manufacturing plants are
working in full capacity and the fourth one
would double the capacity.
These modern plants can produce
complete lines of bias and radial Off-
Highway tyres that cater to the specicneeds and standards demanded by the
various geographical markets. In fact
BKT is already REACH-compliant since
Nov 1, 2009, two months ahead of the
requirement by the European Union under
the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation
and Restriction of Chemical regulations.
In fact our R&D on an average works
with 60 different compounds on a regular
Known universally as BKT, the Mumbai-based Balkrishna Industries Limited is one of the worlds
top off-highway tyre-solution providers. It is growing at dizzying pace in the 115 countries it sells
its products to. Its eyeing to garner 10% of the world market in this speciality tyre segment by
2015. What is noteworthy is BKTs ability to produce a mind-boggling range of tyres in 150 newsizes every year with record-beating low turnaround time of just 8 to 10 weeks - the fastest mind-
to-market product development in the industry. Its R&D focus and good manufacturing practices
have taken it to the top of the global market, which is serviced by its excellent distribution and
backup service networks
By KS Nayar
I N S I D E
P 59
GloBalTReadpRinT
P 61
dominaTinGThe maRKeT
P 62dRivinG pRoducT
innovaTion
P 63
noRTh ameRicafoRay pays off
W
7/31/2019 Bktspecialreport Augsept 10 Tyreasia 100921053346 Phpapp01
3/8
58 POLYMERS &TYRE ASIA AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010
basis that are all in compliance with
global standards and regulations, says
Dilip Vaidya, BKTs Director Technology
(see accompanying story). It is relentlessly
working in close coordination with the
marketing department to get customer
feedback so that products could be
tailored and manufactured at blistering
speed to cater to the emerging demand.
BKT has its ears to the ground.
In order to ensure high standard of quality,BKT has set up a sophisticated test centre
with modern equipment, including those
that are used for endurance-testing.
Besides in-house testing, BKT regularly
conducts tests under international
regulations outside India as well.
As BKTs engineering and development
centres constantly draw on customer
feedback, these are reected in product
improvement on a continuing basis.
This has also helped in its commercial
Executive Director Rajiv Poddar
Executive Director Anurag Poddar
KTs success story
revolves around innovative
off-highway tyre (OHT)development that is driven
by quality, competitive
pricing, worldwide
distribution networks and
service backups. It is one
of the few companies in
the niche tyre segment
that spends 3-5% of the
revenue on research and
development
B
SPECIAL REPORT
success as the company is using its
exible manufacturing prowess to produce
products to meet changing demand
patterns within short time.
When BKT set up Indias rst OTR RadialTyre plant at its Chopanki manufacturing
location, it was a reection of its incessant
obsession to become the market leader in
all segments of the product portfolio.
It also closely studies the geographies
where it wants to enter. As about 95% of
its tyre production is exported--of which
70% is sold in Europe--BKT has tied up
with reputed tyre testing rms for indoor
and outdoor testing to ensure that the
products cater to local regulations.
It, therefore, was no surprise when BKT
won the prestigious innovative product
certication by Unione Nazionale
Costruttori Macchine Agricola (UNACOMA).
The Italy-based organisation, known as
the National Union of Agricultural Machine
Manufacturers, founded in 1945. It
represents Italian makers of tractors,
agricultural and gardening machinery,
components and, through COMAMOTER,
earth-moving machinery.
Segment leadership
Over the years, BKT has strived to leave
its tread imprint in all the segmentsit has entered. It is in the agriculture
segment that the company remains on the
top as its products dominate this sector,
where it offers tyres for tractors, trailers,
implements and other farm equipments.
Although BKT is a relatively new entrant
in the tractor radial segment, its Agrimax
range of radial tyres has become a
runaway success in all markets it has
entered. Market research has shown that
it is on top of customer recall in a very
short period.
Its radial tractor tyres are available indifferent series catering to every tyre
operations from the most sophisticated
row crop tyres for vineyard tractors to
forestry segments.
With the world recovering from recession,
BKT is looking at sectors where growth
is set to come back quickly. In the
infrastructure development sectors, BKT
sees good growth and is already there to
serve the surging market for construction,
industrial and earthmover applications.
They already constitute almost 40%
of BKTs turnover. Seizing growthopportunities BKT has also substantially
expanded product range to include
OHT for heavy earthmovers, compactor,
graders and underground mines.
With its expertise in radial industrial
tractor tyres, it has launched a series of
all steel radial OTR tyres sub-branded as
Earthmax. Along with agriculture topper
Agrimax and forestry tyres, BKT Earthmax
enjoys a unique marketing edge.
As Poddar said BKTs growth graph is
continually moving up because it has built
strong customer trust based on its quality
products and services. This is reected in
its sales turnover of over US$ 300 millionin the year 2009-10.
Adding to the market acceptability,
besides timely delivery, is BKTs powerful
brand appeal. Its a brand thats been
well-accepted by global OEMs, which has
ensured that BKTs sales will cross its
target of US$400 million in the current
nancial year ending March 2011.
BKTs stupendous achievements
have been possible because of the
managements vision to leverage its
cost-competitive product-development
capabilities to make OHT ranges to everysegment of the market. The company
relies on intensive market research to
satisfy customers demand.
Innovation is in our corporate culture,
said Poddar. Both marketing and
technology teams have been specically
trained to remain open for continuous
learning, he said.
All the data and information gathered
from the market are exchanged among
marketing, production and R&D
teams. These inputs go into product
development, improvement of existing
lines and evolve new niches.
There is no wonder for BKTs phenomenal
growth in its chosen market segment.
7/31/2019 Bktspecialreport Augsept 10 Tyreasia 100921053346 Phpapp01
4/8
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010 POLYMERS &TYRE ASIA 59
One of the worlds fastest growing off-highway solution providers, Balkrishna Industries Limited,
known globally as BKT, continues to surge ahead enlarging its worldwide market share. In
order to cater to its widening consumer base, it is expanding its OTR portfolio to live its dream
to become the largest and comprehensive makers of speciality tyres for a wide-range ofapplications from agriculture, mining to construction and forestry segments in the Americas,
Europe and Asia-Pacic. In this interview Managing DirectorArvind Poddarunveils the growth
strategy of the consumer-centric company. Excerpts from the interview
GloBal TReadpRinTith almost 30% compounded annual
growth rate, BKT is expanding at
considerable pace globally. What do you
think are the key factors for such growth?The main reason for our tremendous
growth has been our focussed strategy
on product range. We have today a
wide-range of off-highway products.
We continue to focus on this segment
where we offer consistently high quality
products. We have built strong customer
trust because of our products and
services.
What are the products that you think
have been showing considerable growth
geography-wise?
The greatest growth comes from BKTs
tractor radial tyre sub-branded AGRIMAX.
We offer a complete range of Farm
Radials in different series and aspect
ratios that nd varied applications. Adding
to the market acceptability, besides
quality, is BKTs brand appeal. Its a brand
thats been well-accepted by global OEMs
also.
One factor that the markets consider
as your forte is your ability to respond
quickly to customer needs as your product
portfolio demonstrates. How do you
ramp up production to cater to specic
demands as I understand that you have
developed the technological ability tochange moulds quickly?
It is made possible because BKT has
capable teams at all plants in production
and technical departments. We have
developed efcient and trustworthy
production systems that are enormously
exible. We also make continuous
investments in capacity augmentation.
We also have an ingenious system that is
evolved for running small lot productions.
In terms of technology, BKT is known as
a great innovator with your R&D keeping
its research programmes that are closelyknit with the marketing department. How
has this seamless connection evolved
and how it is being leveraged for product
development?
Its in our corporate culture. Both
marketing and technology teams have
been specically trained to remain open
for continuous learning. All information
gathered from the market is duly
exchanged between both teams resulting
in product improvements as well new
developments.
What are the major technology trends inthe OHT sector globally? What are the
future trends that you foresee, say in a
ve-10 year time-frame?
We believe that markets are moving
towards radialisation due to its obvious
benets in terms of tyre life, fuel-
efciency, more productivity, less soil
compaction etc, I see end users getting
more concerned not only about their
vehicles but also for tyres. And they will
choose a tyre that offers good value
for money. BKT meets all these market
demands.
One of your major thrusts is the north
American geography, where you have
built full-edged operations with veteran
marketers. What are the key initiatives
Arvind Poddar
that they have taken to further deepen
BKTs market penetration? Do you see
any variations in market preferences
there compared to the Asian trend?
Denitely our investments in North
America have been at right time and its
yielding results. Our team there is well
experienced in this territory and we are
expanding our footprints gradually. Of
course the demand patterns are different
in North America compared to Asia as
farm sizes there are too large demanding
larger equipment with bigger tyres.
What do you think are the role of
distributors in widening BKTs reach in
Europe and the Americas?
We at BKT believe that distributors are
integral to our existence as they are our
rst connection with the market. Our
all time intent and objective is to grow
along with our distributors in respective
markets. And we have been successful in
this endeavour.
As you look at emerging market trends,
do you think the world has come out of
recession? Do you think there will be a
W
7/31/2019 Bktspecialreport Augsept 10 Tyreasia 100921053346 Phpapp01
5/8
60 POLYMERS &TYRE ASIA AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010
pick up in the mining, construction and
agriculture sectors?
At BKT, we never had a recession.
Rather we took last year as a period of
opportunity and we actually grew ourbusiness and planned for expansion.
Similarly farming was all- time high world
wide. However, we did see some dip in
mining as well construction but both these
sectors are now bouncing back.
What kind of economic growth that you
expect that would boost demand for
tyres for off-road applications, including
agriculture, industry and construction,
earthmoving equipment?
Other than Europe, we feel all other
areas are opening up new projects on
infrastructure, mining, housing etc.
Also more new investments are being
earmarked for farming as food will see a
shortage in the coming decade - so we
feel there will be ample demand for BKT
products.
Now that you have established a base
in Akron providing market and service
support to BKT distributors. What are the
major features of this network?
The establishment of the North American
ofce is an example of our emphasis
on relationship-oriented approach in
doing business. BKT is offering complete
programme from A to Z based on service,
integrity and quality which constitute
BKTs core values. At Akron we have asales team of ve professionals and two
people to take care of the administration.
What are the production facilities that
you have built over the years in India that
could cater to the rising global demand
for BKTs wide range of products?
Having started with Aurangabad (in the
western Indian state of Maharashtra)
plant in 1988, we have added two more- Bhiwadi in 2002 and Chopanki in 2006
(Rajasthan) to cater to our customers
globally. As our existing facilities are
falling short due to rising demand, we
are already working on a new greeneld
project at Bhuj, Gujarat that will double
our capacity.
Does your mould shop produce
moulds based on designs you develop
or according to customers specic
demands based on their drawings and
specications?
All the mould designs are made in-house.
We have all the infrastructure as well
competent technical teams. At times we
do coordinate with our customers for theirspecic requirements that need to be
incorporated in our products.
You produce a range of bias and radial
farm tyres. Do you envision a gradual
shift to radial as it is claimed to have
fuel-saving advantages and better
retreadability?
Of course we see a gradual shift in farm
tyres from bias to radial but it cannot
happen overnight across the world. Many
a markets, due to small farm holdings
or soil conditions as well as a lack of
knowledge, will continue with bias tyres.While radial tyres do offer fuel efciency,
Im not sure about retreadability as
tractor tyres remain on vehicles for many
years causing gradual damage to casing.
What are your strategies to become an
OEM leader globally?
BKT has been a preferred choice for all
leading OEMs globally. Our overseas
ofces have been effective in catering toglobal OEMs and Im sure all the good
work of Team BKT will bear fruits in times
to come.
What is your focus on developing the
China market?
So far we havent focussed on China.
We are aware of its potential as a huge
market and we will get into it also soon.
Besides ISO, what are the global
standards to which your products are
made to conform?
Besides ISO 9000, we have also beencertied for ISO14000. We benchmark
our products and production processes
against the best in the world.
How many sizes are you developing
annually?
We at BKT develop 120 to 150 sizes
annually. We have the engineering
capability to meet the exacting demands
of our customers worldwide.
BKT is said to have the fastest turnaround
time in New Product Development, which
is a world record. How are you able to
accomplish such a feat?
As I said earlier, we have the engineering
skills and market sensitivity to turn out
products the customer wants. What we
have is a unique mix of market insight,
in-house design studio and mould
shop, management focus and resource
allotment to new product developments
with competent teams to carry out all
these.
Can you give a glimpse of your testing
facilities, which are said to be world
class?
Besides state-of-the-art testing lab, we
have also added ultra-large diameter
endurance testing facilities as well contact
patch pressure distributor monitoring
systems. Our testing capabilities are
further enhanced due to our association
with outdoor testing tracks in Europe.
What are your initiatives in achieving
economies of scale so that product
development and manufacturing costs
could be pressed down?
While we understand the advantages of
small runs, we have never left our sight
from economies of scale. Today, we draw
a very ne balance between both these
aspects due to our specialised software
as well experienced team on planning and
production.
SPECIAL REPORT
7/31/2019 Bktspecialreport Augsept 10 Tyreasia 100921053346 Phpapp01
6/8
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010 POLYMERS &TYRE ASIA 61
BKT is one of the favourites of stock-pickers because of its consistently robust growth in sales
and prots. Even during the recent recession, BKT has been rolling ahead with condence
reporting strong sales across 115 countries. Its marketing department has been in over-drive
catering to remarkable rise in demand for its wide-range of off-road tyres from agricultural,
industrial, construction, earth moving equipment to lawn and garden tyres
dominaTinG The
maRKeT
... continued on page 63
t is all about value proposition, quality
and wide product portfolio that have
made BKT a marketing success story even
in times of recession. It is uniquely suited
to partner with the best in tyre-trade and
be an integral part of the supply chainof OEMs, says Rajesh K. Vyas, head of
Marketing.
We offer tyres meeting stringent
specications and take up special R&D
challenges that come up. We are able to
meet custom-made development needs,
he told Polymers & tyre Asia.
BKT offers the widest range of tyres in
each segment, he said adding that good
quality tyres at very competitive prices
have made the company the preferred
choice of customers worldwide.
We make aggressive commitments to
meet and adhere to all our customers
specic requirements with emphasis on
timely deliveries, he said. BKT has the
capability to develop 150-160 new sizes
every year. In fact it has the technological
infrastructure to develop new sizes
within 8 to10 weeks on nalisation of
specications.
It is BKTs quick response time and
single- point contact for all marketing and
development needs that has made the
companys customer-focussed marketing
a runaway success, he said.
The company makes continuous
investment in R&D and offers complete
transparency in all aspects of the
business. We offer clearly-dened
warranty terms and conditions for quick
settlements, he said explaining the policy
that has helped BKT retain its customer
base.
On how BKT is able to achieve economies
of scale that has made it one of theworlds top competitive OHT makers, he
said that there are several factors that
contributed to making the company a
dominant market player.
BKT is meeting market demands as a
single source supplier of agricultural and
industrial specialty tyres, he said adding
that it is well known for having one of the
most extensive ranges in OHTs major
categories.
The main reason for the companys ability
to retain customers is its commitment
to work closely with them by developing
new sizes and designs to quickly react to
changing market.
BKTs experienced team is backed up by
state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities
wherein it is ensured that the highest
quality products are manufactured. A
marketing and customer service team
dedicated to offer complete marketing
support further backs up its entire
product portfolio.
BKT advantage
Explaining the advantages of connecting
with the BKT, he said that the company
offers many value propositions over its
immediate competition. We offer not only
the widest range of OHTs, but also have
the ability to make the products globally
available, he said.
Adding to its advantage as a market
leader is the proven performance
capability of BKT products that backs
up its value for money proposition. Italso has the worlds fastest design and
development cycle for OHTs.
We have to our credit Triple A ethos,
which means Agility, Accessibility and
Attention, he said. We are one of the
few companies in the world, which is
able to quickly design and produce OHTs
according to specic market demand.
Elaborating that in order to address
specic requirements of the markets
across geographies, he said BKT remains
active in the eld seeking necessary
information before as well as after we
have launched our products there.
BKTs sales as well technical teams
work in tandem with global distributors
to gather the necessary insight into the
market so that it can come up with the
right product.
Due to these unique attributes and
development and marketing prowess, we
have been able to evolve such a large
product range and keep customising
products to suit specic markets.
Explaining how BKT analyses the marketdemand from farm to mining, and
different geographical regions, he said
that in addition to desk researches,
BKTs marketing teams gather on-hand
I
7/31/2019 Bktspecialreport Augsept 10 Tyreasia 100921053346 Phpapp01
7/8
62 POLYMERS &TYRE ASIA AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010
s BKT has one of the widest ranges
of Off-Highway Tyre product portfolios
globally, the challenge before its R&D
team is to remain agile in order to cater
to the specic demand of the market
anywhere in the world. It has a team of
specialists who are extensively trained
in the US and Europe as well as in its
modern R&D laboratory and development
centre. Heading the team is Dilip Vaidya,
Director Technology, who is credited
with leading BKTs R&D initiatives and
innovations. We have 45 engineers
working with us, he told Polymers &
tyre Asia. We spend about 3-5% of
company turnover on R&D, he said.
This investment in R&D has helped
BKT pioneer many products in the OHT
segments such as agricultural, industrial,
construction, earthmovers, all-terrain
vehicles, and lawn and garden vehicle
applications. BKTs current thrust areas
ncludeinclude steel OTR radial tyres,
radial harvester tyres and radial multi-
purpose truck (MPT) tyres.
BKT became a dominant player in the
global OHT market because of its ability
to cater to a wide geographical market
with varying climatic conditions. It has the
capability to produce tyres that may call
for specialised compounding and treadsin line with region-specic requirements.
Product customisation has been possible
with customers feedback and eld
visits by BKT team, Vaidya said. This
customer-focussed research based on
market feedback and its ability to develop
products at lesser cost compared to
international brands is cited as one of the
reasons for BKTs runaway success.
The R&D extensively goes for simulation
and nite element analyses and other
innovative technological tools for the
development of new products, Vaidya
explained elaborating on its state of the
art design and development centre.
Quality culture
Commenting on the major trends that he
sees in the design and development of
OTR tyres, the R&D head said thatsaid
that BKT engineers are moving towards
3D modelling and virtual applications. His
team has moved away from yesteryears
CAD/CAM that was once used extensively
for design and development.
3-D modelling and virtual applications
help us ne-tune the design as well offers
complete control on specications.
BKTs global reputation for product
quality stems from inculcating a unique
quality culture among all teams working
to produce their world-class tyres.
The company zealously adheres to
internationally recognised quality and
standardisation processes, which have
invoked condence in its products.
Quality control is carried out at every
stage of the manufacturing process from
raw materials to the nished products,
Vaidya said. To ensure consistent high
quality, BKT employs cutting-edge
manufacturing tools that are operated
by highly-trained personnel. This has
For any tyre manufacturer,
producing off-highway
tyres presents the greatest
challenge in terms ofdesign, engineering and
compounding. The tyre goes
through the most punishing
environment imaginable in
terms of weight, surface
traction and soil and weather
conditions. But BKT has the
research solution always on
tap because of its robust
research and developmentinfrastructure, says Dilip
Vaidya, Director Technology
dRivinG pRoducT
innovaTion
SPECIAL REPORT
allowed BKT to produce the entire range
of tyres cost-effectively while conforming
to international standards such as ETRTO,
T&RA, JATMA and ITTAC.
Besides ISO 9000 certication, BKT has
also received ISO 14001 certicate for
environmental management practices.
This is in line with its commitment to
corporate civic responsibility.
Vaidya says the high quality of BKTs R&D
work is a challenge that his engineers
have undertaken in a sustainable and
consistent manner as they scale new
heights in product development.
He believes that radial technology, where
BKT has gained great expertise, would
become more widespread in the years to
come. There are distinct advantages for
radials over bias in off-highway tyres, he
said. However, Vaidya believes that all
bias tyres cannot be converted to radialsdue to several factors. These have their
own usefulness.
As regards retreadability, not all the tyres
are designed for retreading. But for the
tyre sizes that are generally retreaded,
BKT offers competent products with
sufcient retreadability.
Vaidya reminds that the customer must
understand that retreadability of a tyre
solely depends on the severity of rst use
as well tyre upkeep by end-users.
On BKTs R&Ds prowess to design the
largest size of OTRs, Vaidya said his team
is willing to take up any challenge when
size matters. We have already developed
tyres up to 51 rim diameter, he said.
A
7/31/2019 Bktspecialreport Augsept 10 Tyreasia 100921053346 Phpapp01
8/8
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010 POLYMERS &TYRE ASIA 63
ven when off-highway tyre markets inthe United States, Canada and Mexico
went through debilitating recession, Rami
Bitran was going places. Even through
such tough times, he catered to customer
demands for BKT tyres in a way they
simply could not afford to ignore.
He always found opportunities in the farm
and industrial sectors and positioned BKT
in a way that would make it irresistible.
The condence that he has brought to
bear on the
market is derived
from his decadesof experience
garnered through
hardwork with
many US-based
speciality tyre
manufacturers.
Although BKT has
been selling in
North America for
the past 10 years, the company realisedthat it can leverage its unique capabilities
to produce speciality tyres according to
specic customers needs in the shortest
possible time and deliver them to the
market, Bitran told Polymers & tyre
Asia.
BKT, therefore, decided two-and-half
years ago to set up an ofce in Akron,
the tyre capital of the world. Soon
Bitran developed a powerful network of
noRTh ameRica
foRay pays offIndustry-leading quality product at economic price is theonly constant that farm tyre veteran Rami Bitran sees in
unpredictable markets. As he puts BKTs North America sales
operations on overdrive from its Akron ofce, he is convinced
that customers greatly appreciate the unique values that BKT
offers that come with the advantage of high-quality technical
and service backups that are consistently delivered to
customers with convincing efciency
experiences, be it mines or farms. We
also receive valued feedback from our
experienced distributors who are locally
based in the respective regions. All these
data are assimilated and made to use to
ensure appropriate products for varied
applications.
About BKTs huge distribution and
logistics network that ensures constant
and continuous market reach, he said
that the company qualies its distributors
before commencing the business. And
during the process, we analyse their
capabilities as regards their market reach,
footprints, sales and operational team
etc. And to add, in India we have created
humongous and modern warehouses
to ensure efcient Supply Chain
Management.
Market trends
Explaining the current major marketing
trends and the developments in the
coming ve years that would have a major
impact on OHT demand he said that
customers are very knowledgeable and
take purchase decisions based on better
returns on their investment.
Due to easy access to information, the
end-users have become more savvy and
seek better reward on their investments.
Tyres being second to fuel in nature of
consumption, the buyer needs qualitycommitments from a brand before they
decide.
BKTs strong marketing capabilities, which
have enabled it to be a world leader in all
segments of the OHTs, have been built
with thoroughness. He said that over the
past 15 years it has gained immense
experience of the international market.
This has given BKT a rm footing globally.
It has been made possible because of the
intense efforts off the dedicated Team
BKT. It nurtures excellent relations with
distributors in all these countries, he
said.
As BKT soars as a global market leader
in OHTs, it is condent that its marketing
mantra is bringing in the rewards it rightly
deserves.
dedicated distributors. Having an intimate
knowledge of the market, its logistics and
dealership networks, he could build BKTs
North America business quickly. Our
distributors get products at competitiveprice points that give them good margins,
Bitran said.
Since the opening of the BKT ofce in
Akron, we have built a team of seven
people. We are comfortable working
because of the high credibility of product
excellence that BKT enjoys in the market.
We are offering best in class service to
customers.
Value, not price
Bitran said BKT products are sold
because of its quality and value. Its notcheap, but its the value of the products
that attracts the buyers, he said.
The other aspect that led to BKTs early
success in North America has been
the exibility and quick response of the
management to the challenges of this
tough market. Bitran unveiled his goals:
We hope to grow into US$100 million in
the next two years from US$70 million
right now after just over two years of
operations. There is no argument that we
are able to achieve and gain a lot because
of Team BKT.
BKT enjoys market leadership because of
the vast product segmentation it enjoys
with 1800 stock keeping units (SKUs),
half of which are currently sold in North
America.
Bitran is not after one-time sale. In the
true spirit of BKT, there is an obsessive
concern to build ongoing relationship with
customers.
E
Top Related