What is your take on the two-wheeler tyre market in India, considering the current situation?

India is facing the heat of the most unprecedented crisis with the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The automobile industry is witnessing a slump, resulting in a slowdown in the two-wheeler tyre market in India. However, the two wheeler demand in India remains strong in the long term, and we believe the current harsh time will pass soon. We are certain that once the lockdowns are lifted, two-wheelers could become the preferred mode of transportation for many, certainly which will be a boom for the two-wheeler tyre market.

Tyre companies are facing challenges on the manufacturing front due to restrictions being infused by the pandemic situation. How has the company aligned its manufacturing activities to the current situation and is taking care of its employees?

At Maxxis, the employee’s safety has been prioritised over business targets. There was a shutdown for a brief period. To ensure workforce well-being, we have been strictly conducting employee Health check-ups, including RT-PCR tests and compulsory vaccinations for all the staff. Also, we have always been following all government protocols of social distancing, limited workforce, operating in shifts and other safety measures for our employees. 

The manufacturing unit operates under the guidelines drawn by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Gujarat State Government. Currently, employees are working in shifts with full capacity workforce. We intend to augment production as per market demand and the lockdown situation in the country.

Management is also proactively sharing e-mailers with employees, channel partners on safety measures and positive quotes to spread the positive environment. 

Could you highlight the role of digitisation of Maxxis India’s plant in Gujarat and how is it helping in today’s time?

Maxxis lays excellent emphasis on digitisation. It gives us greater control and visibility into each step of the complex manufacturing process, reducing cost and waste and improving overall efficiency.

How does the company see Industry 4.0?

Industry 4.0 will be the key game changer for the Indian manufacturing sector. Industry 4.0 refers to leveraging cyber -physical domains in association with the latest technologies like AI, IoT, Cloud computing, AR, 3D printing, etc., to enhance productivity. Industry 4.0 is already influencing sectors like manufacturing, supply chain management, construction, shipping etc., and shall impact all the aspects of our day-to-day activities. It is truly considered to be a disruptive technology.

Maxxis has always worked extremely hard to implement this strategy into hardware (technology, equipment and machinery in our newly built facilities worldwide) and software (the production, management and quality methods that operate those facilities).

What about sustainability in manufacturing at the plant? 

As a socially responsible corporate, Maxxis has been continually assessing the environmental impact of its activities, products and services that forms the basis of its ‘Global Environmental Policy. 

Our Sanand facility boasts of one of the most effective water stewardship programmes in India. Its efficient Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) and Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) have accorded the plant its status of a ‘Zero Liquid Discharge’ facility. It discharges no liquid effluent into the surface water, effectively eliminating the environmental pollution associated with treatment. The process also uses wastewater treatment, recycling, and reuse, thereby contributing to water conservation through a reduced freshwater intake. 

The manufacturing unit also has a unique peripheral trench for water conservation. It collects and stores rainwater and further discharges it into the ground through 22 recharge stations rather than completely running off.

On average, Maxxis India recycles around 2,000 cubic metres of water every month, and the residual water after recycling is further used for plantation and cleaning purposes. The increasing groundwater draft caters to its domestic and industrial requirements, rendering most of the unconfined aquifer zone dry.

Following are some of the measures for collection, storage, Handling, and disposal of waste at our Sanand unit:

• We have the Effluent treatment plants (ETP) and Sewage treatment plants (STP) in our facility to treat our wastewater. After treatment of wastewater – Sludge is generated from both plants. Considering the 3’R, we use the entire STP sludge for our in-house gardening purpose. And the sludge of ETP plant – we use to keep it in a scrap yard for getting dry and then we send it to TSDF (Transport Storage Disposal Facility) “Pollution control board’s Authorised waste management companies for landfilling.

• We also have a sound constructed facility of 1800sq.mt for collection, segregation, and storage of all type of waste.

• We are not only focusing on the safe disposal of Hazardous waste; being an ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System) certified Tyre manufacturer company, it’s our moral responsibility to ensure “End use” or “life-cycle prospective” of our products. We are only selling out the Tyres & other Rubber related to waste to Gujarat Pollution Control Board “Authorised Recyclers”. 

We have always been following consistently ethical standards for recycling to encourage a green environment.

How are you preparing for producing and marketing premium tyres?

Maxxis believes that quality speaks for everything, especially for the premium tyres market; no marketing or promotion activities can subdue how a user concludes the experience of using a premium product. We tapped into the market with Hornet 2.0 project with Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India last year by supplying the Extramaxx (M6233/M6234) series. Extramaxx tyres use the world’s strongest Aramid Fibre, and the dual compound technology minimises rolling resistance while improving stability and tyre life. We have also plan to launch extension sizes for the Extramaxx series to cover all significant sports motorcycles running on Indian roads. We will soon launch more tyre series to cover different road applications for the cruising/touring market segment in the coming months.

How is the company widening the partnership with OEMs?

Maxxis has formidable strength in the OEMs market, where our quality and technology enable us to serve our OEM partners better. We have partnered with some of the world largest two-wheeler manufacturers- Hero Moto Corp, Honda Motorcycles and Scooter India Limited, Yamaha Motor India and Suzuki Motorcycles. We are fast expanding our portfolio as per new trends and market demand. 

Will Maxxis India open to cater to the Electric two-wheeler market, which is small but a fast-growing segment?

Maxxis Tyres stand for our steady commitment towards innovation, catering to the future mobility trends across segments. Last year, we launched the M922F, a special edge for tyre designs for electric two-wheelers. The new M922F tyres are built with specialised compound technology, which helped us in producing lighter tyres. This lighter weight in turn reduces energy consumption by five to ten per cent, enhancing the range of an electric two-wheeler.

We are one of the best EV 2W tyre manufacturers globally as we supply tyres to Gogoro in Taiwan and Niu in China; both are the pioneers in EV 2W globally. 

The company plans to have five more plants. Could you elaborate on how will they be technically advanced and cater to future demand?

We are one of the fastest-growing tyre companies in India with a long-term vision to achieve a 15 percent market share by 2026 and set up five manufacturing plants. Owning to the current pandemic situation in the country and keeping in mind the well-being of the employees, the complete utilisation of the existing plant capacity has been put on hold. 

We are evaluating the current market situation and will navigate our strategy as per the future condition.

What are the expansion plans for 2021 – 2022.

On the product front, Maxxis India has various line-up of tyres for sports bike with different applications for road and weather conditions which we will introduce in a very short time. We are evaluating the space of market for more product introduction. Currently, our portfolio covers 82% of market’s users’ scenario and we plan to raise it more than 90% this year.  

Also, The company made an investment of over $400 million in its Sanand plant in Gujarat. We currently employ workforce of 600+ people and are committed to extend manpower to 2000 within five years. Currently, we have used half of the land (106 acres) we got from the Gujarat government for the planned 60,000 units’ capacity. Owing to COVID-19 pandemic, we are carefully evaluating the situation this year and will take appropriate steps to realise our future plans, in the time to come. We have penetrated across all 29 states and eight Union Territories of India and opened an exclusive retail store in Goa to meet the growing demands of our customers.

We are working on new alignments and partnerships with new set of OEMs for the two-wheeler market as well as working on expanding our portfolio for the replacement market.

 (TT)

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

A population of over 1.4 billion people catapulting into the world’s third largest automobile market with four million trucks plying across a road network of 6.3 million kilometres supported by a USD 13.4 billion tyre market and a mining sector contributing around 2–2.5 percent of the country’s GDP demonstrate the strength of India’s automobile, freight and tyre sectors.

The story doesn’t end there as the Central Government adopts a strategic approach on reducing carbon emissions across these verticals, especially automobile and tyres, with targets such as the Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2070, battery electric vehicles target by 2030, zero-emission truck corridors, Extended Producer Responsibility for the tyre sector; the list just goes on.

Amidst all such statistics and targets, a silent spectator remains the old and varied sector of tyre retreading. In a recent news story reported by Tyre Trends, the Indian Tyre Technical Advisory Committee (ITTAC) had made a proposal to Tyre Retreading Education Association (TREA) for mandating certain standards that will improve the quality of retreads.  ITTAC has made recommendations to the BIS committee. TREA is part of the same committee. ITTAC and TREA are recommending different standards.

These standards included BIS retread standards, namely IS 15725, IS 15753, IS 15524 and IS 9168. The ITTAC had partially aligned Indian requirements with ECE R109, the European regulatory benchmark.

In a reply to the proposal, which was accessed by Tyre Trends, TREA urged the Indian Tyre Technical Advisory Committee to seek a deferment or non-applicability of BIS standard IS 15704:2018 for retreaded commercial vehicle tyres, warning that mandatory enforcement could cripple the sector.

In the letter, TREA argued that IS 15704:2018 is largely modelled on new tyre manufacturing norms and is technically unsuitable for retreading, which is a restoration and recycling process.

The standard mandates advanced laboratory tests such as spectrometer-based rubber analysis, endurance testing and compound uniformity checks, requirements that most retreading units, particularly small and medium enterprises, are not equipped to meet

The association highlighted that even large retreaders lack the infrastructure and skilled manpower needed for BIS-grade testing, while the sheer number of retreading units would make inspections and certifications operationally unmanageable for regulators.

TREA warned that compliance costs linked to machinery upgrades, audits and quality control could force 70–80 percent of units to shut down, leading to job losses, higher fleet operating costs and adverse environmental outcomes due to reduced recycling

Instead, TREA proposed that BIS prioritise retreading-specific standards such as IS 13531 and IS 15524, which focus on materials, process control, safety and quality consistency.

The body has also called for a phased transition roadmap, MSME support and industry training before any stricter norms are enforced, stressing that abrupt implementation would undermine the sector’s role in India’s circular economy.

The conundrum

India has a total of 36 administrative divisions comprising 28 states and 8 union territories. The tyre retreading sector has been continuously supporting circularity goals since the early 1970s across the world’s largest economy without getting mainstream recognition.

Even after five decades in service, the industry battles different bottlenecks including fragmentation, manpower shortage, tax pressures brought about by the recent GST revisions and now the implementation of such standards, just to name a few.

The sole practice that can simultaneously reduce carbon emissions from tyres and extend tyre life is assumed the nemesis of an ‘infamous and dangerous practice’ in some states of the country.

However, the industry has been drawing its techniques and quality parameters from the world’s oldest retreading economy, Europe.

“Big retreaders in India already have the necessary processes in place that conform to IS 15524 standards. However, as the standard is not yet mandated, we have voiced support for it because it is process-oriented and outlines how retreading should be carried out, including buffing and building procedures,” said TREA Chairman Karun Sanghi.

He added, “This standard focuses on how the work is done rather than imposing product-level testing that cannot be practically implemented. The current debate on IS 15704 stems from it being fundamentally incompatible. The standard includes requirements such as sidewall marking and destructive testing of retreaded tyres, which are impractical in a retreading environment where each tyre differs in brand, size, application and usage history,” he added.

Destructive testing, he argued, assumes uniform batch sizes. In retreading, where every casing is unique, testing even a single tyre would mean destroying finished products without yielding representative results. Applying such a framework would effectively require the destruction of every tyre in a batch, making compliance unviable.

“We have submitted our response to ITTAC and are awaiting feedback from the committee. We remain open to continued dialogue and will engage further once the committee responds to our submission,” said Sanghi.

According to him, a typical retreader processes about 300 tyres a month across multiple brands including MRF, JK Tyre, Apollo and Michelin and applications ranging from buses and trucks to mining vehicles. These casings vary widely in load cycles, operating conditions and duty patterns, often across several models from the same manufacturer.

The committee has cited European standard ECE R109, but Sanghi points to structural differences: “Europe is a global retreading hub where tyre manufacturers such as Michelin and Bridgestone dominate operations, collect their own tyres, retread them and return them to fleets, making batch-based destructive testing relevant. A similar model exists in US, where large tyre companies lead retreading and largely self-regulate without a single overarching standard. The Indian scenario is different, especially with a fragmented market.”

He stressed that the industry is not opposed to standards but to those that cannot be practically applied, warning that adopting European manufacturing-oriented norms without accounting for India’s market structure and operating realities would be counter-productive.

The debate is no longer about whether standards are needed but whether they are fit for purpose. Without accounting for India’s fragmented retreading ecosystem, enforcing impractical norms could dismantle a circular industry in the name of compliance.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

The second season of TGL Presented by SoFi, where Hankook Tire serves as the Founding and Official Tire Partner, commenced on 28 December 2025. This innovative league, a venture of TMRW Sports with backing from icons like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, represents a strategic alignment for Hankook, uniting two entities driven by technological advancement. The partnership provides a global platform to reinforce Hankook's premium brand positioning across North America and worldwide through extensive visibility during broadcasts and at the state-of-the-art SoFi Center in Florida.

This unique venue embodies the league's fusion of sport and technology, featuring a massive simulator with a dedicated ScreenZone and a dynamic GreenZone. This area, equipped with a turntable and over 600 actuators, meticulously replicates real-world golf conditions indoors, creating an immersive arena experience. The competition itself is fast-paced and engaging, with teams of PGA TOUR players competing in Triples and Singles sessions over 15 holes. Innovative elements like the point-doubling ‘Hammer’, real-time strategy via ‘Hot Mic’ and a Shot Clock ensure a dynamic spectacle for fans.

The season opener presented a compelling narrative as a rematch of the inaugural finals, pitting the undefeated Atlanta Drive GC, featuring Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay, against a determined New York Golf Club squad led by Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele. This match set the tone for an intensive season running through March, where six teams and 24 top golfers will compete. For Hankook, this partnership is more than signage; it is an active engagement with a global community, delivering a distinctive brand experience that bridges cutting-edge mobility and sport for enthusiasts everywhere.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Dunlop (company name: Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.) has made its way to the annual A-List of CDP for climate change and water security. This premier designation, awarded for the first time to the company in the 2025 evaluation, recognises world-leading performance in transparency, risk management and environmental action. CDP’s annual assessment is a key benchmark for corporate sustainability across climate, water and forests.

This achievement stems from the Group’s integrated approach to material issues outlined in its corporate philosophy. It treats the interconnected challenges of climate change, biodiversity and the circular economy holistically, advancing concrete initiatives under its long-term ‘Driving Our Future’ sustainability policy.

On climate, the Group’s science-based emission reduction targets for 2030 are validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. Operational efforts include pioneering green hydrogen production at its Shirakawa Factory and developing tyres made entirely from sustainable materials by 2050. The company also works to reduce emissions across its supply chain, lowers tyre rolling resistance to improve vehicle fuel economy and extends product life through retreading.

For water security, the strategy is driven by localised risk assessments at global production sites. In seven facilities identified as high-risk, the goal is to achieve 100 percent wastewater recycling by 2050. Progress is already evident, with the company’s Thailand factory reaching full wastewater recycling in 2024.

These coordinated actions on multiple environmental fronts formed the basis for the Group’s simultaneous top-tier recognition in both critical categories from CDP.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Bridgestone Corporation has initiated a novel co-creation programme in partnership with Ethiopian Airlines and Ethiopian Airports, focused on enhancing aviation safety at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. This marks Bridgestone’s first sustained three-way collaboration with both an airline and an airport authority, targeting the reduction of Foreign Object Debris on runways and taxiways to support safer and more reliable aircraft operations.

The project was prompted by tyre-related incidents linked to debris at the airport, which previously risked disrupting flight schedules. Leveraging its specialised system for inspecting used airline tyres and analysing debris data, Bridgestone assessed conditions at the hub and proposed a tailored action plan. The company provided continuous support by analysing debris distribution patterns, developing visual hazard maps, advising on efficient collection methods and conducting training to raise awareness among airport personnel.

These sustained efforts have yielded significant results, substantially lowering the rate of tyre damage caused by runway debris compared to levels before the collaboration began. This reduction has supported improved on-time performance for Ethiopian Airlines while advancing overall operational safety. Additionally, the initiative has encouraged greater use of retreaded tyres, promoting economic efficiency and environmental sustainability within the airline’s operations.

Looking ahead, Bridgestone and Ethiopian Airlines Group plan to deepen their co-creation efforts, aiming to generate further value for the aviation sector and broader society through continued innovation and partnership.

Retta Melaku, Chief Operating Officer, Ethiopian Airlines, said, "At Ethiopian Airlines, the safety of our passengers, employees and aircraft is a priority. We are pleased to collaborate with Bridgestone to further strengthen our efforts in reducing FOD at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport and ensure safe operations at the hub airport."

Getaneh Adera, Managing Director, Ethiopian Airports, said, "We remain fully committed to upholding the highest safety standards at Bole International Airport at all times. This significant achievement in reducing FOD is the result of our strong commitment for safe operations and close collaboration with Bridgestone. Through our co-creation activities, we are pleased to have realised safer operations with enhanced productivity and economic value."

Jean-Philippe Minet, Managing Director, Bridgestone Aircraft Tire (Europe) S.A., said, "By combining the learnings and insights from Ethiopian Airlines' operational issues with our analysis technology and know-how, we have deepened our co-creation to propose customised solutions. We are delighted to contribute to safe aircraft operations with peace of mind and to improved operational productivity through the co-creation of efficient FOD reduction on airport surfaces. Through further expansion and evolution of this solution, we will amplify the value of our ‘Dan-Totsu Products’, trust with our customers and value of the data for creating new value."

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!