Balkrishna Industries Limited (BKT), a leading global off-highway tyre manufacturer, will build a new plant for the production of carbon black. This facility will stretch over approximately 8 hectare within the BKT production site at Bhuj in Gujarat.

A $23-million investment has been earmarked for BKT?s backward integration project within their supply chain. The new plant will continuously provide raw material for the increasing tyre production.

The carbon black plant is another step forward in the company?s middle-and-long-term strategy, which started with setting up the Bhuj site. Inaugurated in 2015, extending over an area of 120 hectare, and having had a cost of $500 million, Bhuj boasts state-of-the-art production facilities and machinery. It is located in a strategic position in proximity to the commercial port of Mundra, which has already been an important logistic hub for BKT?s exports.

The Bhuj site was established for the purpose of meeting the increasing demand for tyres on a global scale. The new carbon black plant, with an estimated capacity of 60,000 tonne a year, will further support BKT?s ability to invariably satisfy this demand.