On the occasion, Mr. H.S. Singhania, Chairman, JK Organisation, said the company started manufacturing tyres in 1977, with a capacity of 5 lakh tyres per annum and has grown multifold over the years to its present capacity of 158 lakh tyres per annum, along with Tornel, a leading tyre manufacturer in Mexico. JK Tyre now has four state-of-the-art plants strategically located in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, and three around Mexico City. In Mysore itself, JK Tyre has spent more than Rs. 900 crores since 1997 towards increasing capacity and modernization, including the recently completed expansion of the truck bus radial plant. In addition, a major expansion of OTR capacity in Mysore involving an outlay of Rs. 120 crores is under implementation and will be completed in early 2010.
“The company is fast expanding its capacity across our manufacturing facilities to cater to the rising demand and drive growth. It has recently completed its expansion to Rs. 315 crores to increase the capacity of truck and bus radial tyres from four lakhs to eight lakhs per annum and is further planning to invest Rs. 1,200 crores in the next 3 to 4 years to fulfill the growth demand”, he added.
Dr. R.P. Singhania, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd., observed: “Today, we have 7 modern tyre production facilities across the world, with a turnover of around Rs. 4,800 crores. Furthermore, we source tyres internationally for our global markets where we have been able to establish a foothold in 80 countries, across six continents. Radial technology is high end tyre technology and is the future in developing countries like ours. India is fast radialising, with the passenger car segment being almost 95% radialised, the LCV segment at 35% and the truck/bus segment at 10 per cent. However, radialisation in the commercial segment is picking up, and it is expected that within next 5 years it would touch nearly 25%”.
JK Tyre manufactures the entire range of tyres for all categories of four-wheelers, including off the road (OTR) tyres and has three leading tyre brands – JK Tyre, Vikrant and Tornel. Vikrant is the largest manufacturing facility in Mysore, both in terms of turnover and the number of employees. In 1996, Vikrant Tyre produced 100 tonnes per day with a turnover of Rs. 350 crores. Today, the plants located in Mysore are producing nearly three times the tonnage per day, which will grow further from March 2010.
JK Tyre & Industries has committed to invest Rs. 1,200 crores in the next 3-4 years on increasing the capacity for passenger car radials and commercial vehicle radial tyres. The company is fast expanding its capacity across the manufacturing facilities to cater to the growing demand and drive growth.
Profit zooms in first quarter
JK Tyre has reported an excellent quarterly profit after tax (PAT) for the quarter ended September 30, 2009, at Rs. 59.51 crores. Net sales and operating profit for the quarter are Rs. 938 crores and Rs. 136.94 crores respectively. For the half year ended September 30, PAT is Rs. 100.26 crores and net sales Rs. 1,835 crores.
Commenting on the performance, Dr. Singhania said: “JK Tyre has recorded an exceptional performance in quarter 2 of the current year on account of all-round costs management and better operating efficiencies. As a result, operating profit has improved to 14.6% compared to -0.6% for the same period last year. Our expansions are well on course. OTR tyre and car radial expansion projects undertaken will be completed as per schedule early next year. The company’s plans for further increasing the TBR capacity from 8 lakh tyres to 12 lakh tyres and adding 25 lakh tyres for passenger car radials are also progressing well. The new site selection is expected to be completed shortly and construction of the new plant will begin thereafter.”
