JK Tyre and Industries Ltd., home-grown tyre industry major, has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Automotive Test Tracks (NATRAX) towards the development and polishing of the wet grip test track at NATRAX Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh. NATRAX is one of the state-of-the-art automotive testing and certification centres under the National Automotive Testing and Research and Development Infrastructure Project (NATRIP), a flagship project of the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India. NATRAX consists of 16 test tracks, covering aspects such as speed, braking, off-road, comfort, sustainability, noise, friction, etc.
The wet grip test track will be used to test the safety aspect of tyres, including wet grip as per ECE R117 regulation, wet braking, peak brake force coefficient (PBFC), etc. Being a pioneer in tyre testing, JK Tyre and Industries houses facilities ranging from static to highly dynamic tests, and also has the capability to conduct regulatory tests to performance level tests. It also uses state-owned testing centres under NATRIP across India to perform both subjective and objective vehicle level tests. The company constantly upgrades its test facilities that include modernisation of existing equipment and adding new equipment to meet the emerging needs of OEMs and regulatory requirements, national and international.
Commenting on the occasion, V K Misra, Technical Director, JK Tyre and Industries, said, “We are honoured to be a part of the government’s flagship project towards building competencies in the automotive sector that are at par with the global standards. We have been working towards driving innovation and technology excellence in the Indian tyre industry. With our experience and expertise, we are rightly placed to lead this project with NATRAX.” Upon completion, JK Tyre and Industries will be testing its future range of revolutionary products at the wet grip test track.
Over the past four decades, JK Tyre and Industries has been at the forefront of driving innovation and excellence in the tyre industry through the introduction of ground-breaking technologies and products that cater to diverse business segments in the automobile industry. The company launched the first ever ‘smart tyre’ technology and introduced a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) by offering TREEL sensors. The company’s unwavering commitment towards innovation is reflected through its state-of-the-art global research and technology centre – the Raghupati Singhania Centre of Excellence – in Mysuru, which houses latest and world-class testing facilities.