Tyre major JK Tyre and Industries Ltd, part of the ₹28,000-crore JK Organisation, will invest ₹100 crore to set up a new R&D centre of excellence here.

It will initially have about 200 engineers and scientists and the number will double during the next one year. Raghupati Singhania, Chairman and Managing Director, JK Tyre and Industries, Ltd old BusinessLine that the company is combining all its R&D efforts across several locations under one roof.

“This will house the most modern and advanced equipment manned by highly experienced engineers and scientists with deep insight into material resource, designs, aesthetics and structures.”

The company recently reached a historic milestone when it became the first Indian tyre company to roll out its 10 millionth truck/bus radial tyres from its Vikrant plant at Mysuru.

Karnataka Minister for Industries, RV Deshpande, and PWD Minister HC Mahadevappa were present during the rollout.

With a tyre capacity of 3.5 million truck/bus radials per annum, JK Tyre pioneered radial technology in India, introducing truck and bus radial tyres way back in 1999, becoming the largest producer in this category. JK Tyre took over the state-owned Vikrant plant and turned it around into a state-of-the-art plant with investments of over ₹1,200 crore providing direct and indirect employment to over 13,000 people.

“Starting 1977, when we set up our first tyre plant in Rajasthan with an annual capacity of 5 lakh tyres, we have grown multi-fold by setting up green field plants, expansion of its existing capacities and acquisitions including Vikrant plant in Karnataka and a tyre company in Mexico,” Singhania said.

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