The launch of the Dr D Banerjee Centre of Excellence at JSS Technical Institutions marks a pivotal step towards transforming India’s rubber and tyre industry. By fostering collaboration between academia and industry, the centre aims to break longstanding deadlocks, equipping the workforce with advanced skills and driving innovation in polymer science and sustainable rubber technologies. With a focus on supporting MSMEs and addressing emerging challenges, especially those posed by electric vehicles and stricter regulations, the DBCOE seeks to become a national hub for research, training and certification, ultimately positioning India as a leader in the evolving global rubber sector.

The Indian Institute of Rubber (IRI) and JSS Technical Institutions inaugurated the Dr D Banerjee Centre of Excellence (DBCOE) recently at the Raghupati Singhania auditorium at JSS Technical Institutions’ Mysore campus.

The institute will serve as a proactive platform for academic and industrial collaboration for polymer science and rubber technology aiming to bridge different industrial deadlocks within the rubber industry.

The event was attended by JK Tyres and Industries CMD Dr Raghupati Singhania, Mysore District Magistrate Lakshmikanth Reddy (IAS), H.H. Jagadguru Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Mahaswamiji, IRI Chairman Dr R Mukhopadhyay, IRI Vice Chairman V K Misra and industry veteran P K Mohamed, among others.

Setting the stage for the occasion, Mahaswamiji stated, “This is a remarkable coincidence that JSS Science and Technology is associating with Dr D Banerjee Centre of Excellence to usher in new vistas for innovation in rubber technology, where science meets technology for the benefit of society. The centre is dedicated to focusing on innovation, research and new product development and creating high-performance tyres, thereby contributing to sustainability efforts by developing eco-friendly tyre technologies.”

Drawing on the same lines, Misra went on to say, “This is a dream come true as the decision was taken to establish a Centre of Excellence at the occasion of IRCO RubberCon Conference held at Chennai in the year 2015. It gives all of us an immense sense of pride to be associated with the establishment of this Centre of Excellence. It will provide a unique platform to the rubber and allied industry for skill development, training, technology development etc. in the coming years.”

The centre honours the contribution of Dr Banerjee, a pioneering figure in Indian rubber and tyre technology. The initiative was supported by JSS Mahavidyapeetha, IRI and numerous industry leaders and technologists.

Dr Singhania was recognised at the event not only for his leadership in the tyre industry but also for his commitment to nation-building and youth empowerment.

“I am glad that the Indian Rubber Institute, in association with JSS Mahavidyapeetha and the larger Indian rubber fraternity, has set up this centre in memory of Dr Banerjee, the doyen and father of the Indian rubber industry. It is heartening to know that this Centre of Excellence has been established with a clear and noble vision. In fact, this initiative resonates deeply with our Prime Minister’s vision of a ‘Skilled India Mission’,” said Dr Singhania.

He added, “This centre has the potential to play a vital role in realising the vision within the rubber sector. I was delighted to tour the centre and see the comprehensive infrastructure and facilities put in place to fulfil these objectives. I am confident that this centre will soon earn the reputation and recognition it rightly deserves.”

A FULFILMENT CENTRE

According to Dr Singhania, in India’s rapid growth trajectory, institutions like this will play a crucial role in empowering youth with the skills needed to serve this vital sector. Vocational education is a key enabler of employability and plays a transformative role in facilitating a smooth transition of individuals into the industrial workforce.

“I am tempted to share our own experience with industry-academia partnership. We have been successfully running one at IIT Madras for the last 18 years. I believe this kind of close collaboration between industry and academia is something we have been missing in India, and it is indeed a critical step forward,” he stated.

India today stands at a unique juncture with a demographic advantage expected to last for the next 25–30 years. Equipping the population with the right skill sets – both technical and entrepreneurial – opens the opportunity to transform an advantage into a demographic dividend that drives economic growth not just within India but globally.

The employment landscape is evolving rapidly. Business models are being disrupted and new job roles are emerging at an unprecedented pace. The skills and job profiles that were relevant five years ago may no longer be sufficient today. This rapid change demands a dynamic skilling ecosystem – one that is agile, industry-responsive and inclusive.

To meet the future demands of the tyre and rubber industry, such as the increasing use of speciality polymers, advanced materials and the rising adoption of electric vehicles, a technically confident and highly trained workforce is needed.

“This Centre of Excellence can play a vital role not only as a hub for education and hands-on training but also as a platform for testing, research and technology development. Its contribution, particularly to MSMEs in the rubber and allied sectors, will be significant. This centre will evolve into a beacon for the rubber industry, not just in India but across the Asia-Pacific region,” said an optimistic Dr Singhania.

VETERAN’S TALK

Commenting on the occasion, former IRI Chairman P K Mohamed stated that after several years of earnest effort by the officials and members of the IRI, a world-class institute for rubber technology, education, research, testing and skill development has been established.

“Currently, industries recruit students directly from colleges after they complete their BTech degrees. These companies then invest one to two years in training them before assigning them to regular roles. This approach is both expensive and time-consuming. To address this, we propose the introduction of a preparatory course for students, developed jointly by industry and academic institutions, based on a mutually agreed syllabus. Experienced professionals from industry, raw material and equipment suppliers as well as research organisations could be invited to deliver these classes,” said Mohamed.

He added, “We are also in the process of working out an appropriate methodology for funding these programmes. This initiative will significantly benefit industries by enabling them to hire job-ready candidates directly, eliminating the need for extensive post-recruitment training.”

The industry veteran highlighted that forensic analysis of failed products remains a key challenge for small and medium enterprises. To address this, DBCOE has developed comprehensive analytical capabilities and plans to recruit a specialist for failure analysis. This facility will help industries identify root causes of failures and implement corrective actions to ensure continuity.

A material characterisation and wet chemistry lab has been set up to analyse raw materials such as carbon black, rubber chemicals, various rubbers, accelerators, antioxidants and process aids. In-house capability also exists to draft material specifications for future quality control. Plant audits and merit-based approvals can be arranged.

Plans are underway to offer short courses in collaboration with equipment manufacturers and suppliers. Topics will include mixing, extrusion, calendering, tyre building, compounding, engineering, moulding, retreading, footwear, belt technology and latex products. These courses will combine practical and theoretical content, including testing methods and failure analysis. Notably, discussions with HF Mixing Group on mixing technology are progressing well. Additionally, a recognition programme is being developed to honour individuals contributing to different segments.

DEFEATING DEADLOCKS

India’s automotive industry is undergoing a seismic shift, driven by the rapid adoption of electric vehicles and rising performance expectations. While tyres often dominate the conversation, rubber components account for up to 10 percent of the overall value in an automobile and its role is growing more critical than ever.

As vehicle design evolves, so do the demands on rubber parts in the wake of higher torque, lighter weight, reduced rolling resistance and near-silent operation as can be seen in case of EVs. For manufacturers, especially the MSMEs that make up much of the sector, these shifts present a formidable challenge. Existing designs and materials no longer suffice.

Speaking on the vision of the centre and how it will meet industry deadlocks, Dr Mukhopadhyay said, “The mission is fourfold viz-a-viz upskill the current workforce, offer technical support for regulatory compliance and homologation, enable technology advancement for MSMEs and drive sustainable material innovation in collaboration with raw material suppliers. This centre aims to be more than just an academic institution; it’s envisioned as an ecosystem that fuels India’s rubber sector with skilled talent and cutting-edge know-how.”

At the heart of the initiative lies a simple truth that knowledge alone is no longer enough. According to Dr Mukhopadhyay, India’s tyre and rubber sector needs a convergence of skill and science that demand a confluence of practical expertise and theoretical depth. With an eye on decarbonisation, the centre will also push research into bio-based alternatives for carbon black, synthetic rubber, tackifiers and processing oils. From tyre-to-tyre recycling to steel reuse and low-emission polymers, the effort reflects a broader ambition to modernise the industry not just for EV readiness but for long-term sustainability.

“In a market where regulatory demands are intensifying and global competitiveness is rising, this centre represents a strategic leap. It promises to future-proof India’s rubber industry by training the next generation, empowering MSMEs and leading the shift towards a cleaner, more resilient manufacturing base,” he said.

THE NON-TYRE SECTOR

The centre will primarily focus on the tyre industry but aims to support the wider rubber ecosystem, especially MSMEs producing non-tyre components. While large tyre firms have testing and certification infrastructure, smaller players often lack access to technology, skilled labour and analytical facilities. The centre will bridge this gap through hands-on training, consultancy and development support. It will act as a national hub for tyre technology, BIS certification and sustainability compliance while also helping non-tyre manufacturers enhance technical capabilities.

“This sort of institution has been both our dream and our vision. We’ve worked hard to bring it to life, and I’m heartened to see the industry now stepping up. Of course, execution and funding remain challenges. Nothing happens overnight, but I’m confident that with time and collective effort, we will overcome these hurdles. As a PhD holder in this field, I’ve witnessed the struggles students face, particularly during their research projects. Dealing with limited equipment, recruitment issues and maintenance challenges are plenty,” averred Dr Mukhopadhyay.

HURDLES IN THE WAY

Despite India’s robust tyre and rubber sector, a culture of collaboration remains elusive, especially among tyre companies, which have largely remained conservative and insular in their approach.

Industry veterans have long observed that companies prefer to operate in silos, wary that cooperation might breed competition.

According to Dr Mukhopadhyay, the initiative of collaboration has come in the form of grassroots movements like the Wisdom Club – an informal alliance led by senior industry professionals like himself and Mohamed – who have pooled their knowledge and experience to mentor the next generation and drive development where institutions have fallen short.

“Unlike government-backed Centres of Excellence, which number over 40 yet often lack focused activity, and with only one national body showing limited development momentum, these independent efforts fill a critical gap. Furthermore, there are no large grants, no access to state support and infrastructure must be built slowly, piece by piece – often through deferred payments and personal negotiations. We don’t have capital. Yet, against these odds, progress is being made often over decades.”

While attempts to find institutional partners in Chennai and other cities have met resistance or failed to materialise, the effort continues.

EDUCATIONAL PROWESS

Highlighting the nuances of the educational programmes offered by the centre, IRI Advisor S Vasudeva Rao mentioned, “The centre offers two flagship programmes, namely the Diploma in Rubber Technology for diploma holders and fresh recruits and the Postgraduate Diploma in Rubber Technology for science and engineering graduates. Both combine online theoretical modules (delivered on Sundays) with practical assignments and hands-on crash courses at the Mysuru campus. Final examinations are conducted and evaluated by IIT Kharagpur, lending strong academic credibility.”

Rao also noted that the new training powerhouse is an INR 280 million facility funded entirely through industry donations. It brings in over 40 industry experts to teach domain-specific topics ranging from tyre and conveyor technology to PU foams and latex composites. Curriculum is aligned with real-world applications and transparency is ensured via digital course materials and regular assessments.

The initiative has gained formal endorsement across the tyre industry. Companies like Apollo, Yokohama, BKT and JK Tyre now embed course completion as a pre-condition for employment confirmation, reimbursing 100 percent of the INR 40,000 course fee. While the centre is new, the course dates back to 1995 and over 1,200 professionals have graduated with average annual enrolment now exceeding 250.

The centre represents a rare model of successful industry-academia collaboration in India’s manufacturing sector, combining infrastructure, expertise and funding to systematically upskill the rubber workforce.

While the establishment of the DBCOE represents a significant milestone, the broader challenge lies in overcoming the entrenched conservatism and fragmented nature of India’s tyre and rubber industry.

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ZC Rubber, China’s largest tyre maker, is running 18 AI agents across its Hangzhou 5G plant. It insists the goal is smarter manufacturing, not emptier factory floors.

Walk into the industrial conversation about automation these days and ‘lights-out’ production tends to come up within minutes: factories with no people, no lighting and machines working in the dark. However, ZC Rubber, the Hangzhou-based group that ranks among the world’s top nine tyre companies, would like to correct that impression before it takes hold.

“We see this as a 5G Smart Factory, or Future Factory V2.0, rather than a ‘dark factory’. The goal is intelligent manufacturing, not simply removing people from the production process,” the company said in an interview.

That is a notable position from a company that has just put 18 AI agents to work across its production chain and reports defect rates well under half those of its earlier operations. It is also a considered one, and the details explain a good deal about how the world’s largest tyre market is approaching the factory of the future.

PEOPLE AT THE EXCEPTIONS

ZC Rubber’s division of labour is simple. Automation, AI and real-time data are steadily taking over what the company calls ‘repetitive and highly standardised operations.’ Its people are being moved towards engineering, process management, quality assurance and the handling of exceptions, meaning the unusual problems that no model has seen before.

“We will continue to increase automation, but fully unmanned production is not the goal,” ZC Rubber said. “It is about combining intelligent systems with human expertise.”

The same logic applies to the future. Asked whether lights-out production is on the roadmap, ZC Rubber was clear. “We do not see fully lights-out production as a goal in itself. Technology will be introduced where it brings clear improvements in quality, efficiency, safety and sustainability,” it said.

EIGHTEEN AGENTS, ONE PRODUCTION CHAIN

The scale of the AI deployment is considerable. Since June 2025, ZC Rubber has introduced 18 AI agents across the full production chain. Their use ranges from AI-assisted formulation and virtual simulation to equipment maintenance, production scheduling and quality control. According to the company, they have helped shorten tyre development cycles by 50 percent and lifted production efficiency by 50 percent.

Where does the value come from? Not from any single stage, the company suggests. “The biggest value comes from using AI to analyse production data, optimise process parameters and support faster decision-making across the manufacturing process,” it said. ZC Rubber does not currently publish a stage-by-stage breakdown of the gains.

INSPECTION AND THE DEFECT RATE

Quality control is where the company’s numbers are most striking. Its latest AI-based visual inspection systems, it says, can achieve a defect detection rate of close to 100 percent, improving both the speed and the consistency of inspection. That matters most in high-volume passenger car radial (PCR) output, where human inspectors face the twin problems of fatigue and sheer throughput.

Zooming out, the company says AI and digital quality control across its smart manufacturing system have cut its product defect rate from 1.2 percent to 0.5 percent.

HOW THE SYSTEMS TALK TO EACH OTHER

“Thousands of sensors collect production data in real time, while 5G connects equipment, quality inspection and logistics systems,” the company said. The APS+MES system pulls production, quality and logistics information into one place ‘so operations can be monitored and adjusted quickly’. AI and big data analytics then help staff spot problems and make faster production decisions.

AN EARLIER SET OF NUMBERS, UPDATED

ZC Rubber’s earlier claims of a 15 percent efficiency gain, up to 40 percent lower defect rates and a 5 percent cut in energy use make one notice that the latest figures are considerably better. The company is candid about why. “Those figures reflect an earlier stage of our smart factory development,” it said.

The current numbers, for the 5G Smart Factory, are a 50 percent improvement in production efficiency, defect rates down from 1.2 percent to 0.5 percent and a 10 percent reduction in overall energy consumption.

As for which technology deserves the credit, ZC Rubber declines to rank them. “We do not break down the improvement by individual technology,” it said, naming instead the key components: AI-based process control, automated inspection, intelligent logistics, APS+MES production management and data-driven quality control.

ENERGY, MEASURED VALVE BY VALVE

The energy figure is worth a closer look, because it comes from a fairly granular system. ZC Rubber’s energy management combines 5G, IoT, big data, AI and digital-twin technologies. Smart sensors, smart meters and smart valves feed real-time data into a central energy platform, while AI supports analysis and operational optimisation.

The division of labour among the technologies is neat. “5G provides the connectivity, while AI, big data and digital twins help turn the data into better energy-management decisions,” the company said.

TWO PLATFORMS AND A DIFFERENT STARTING POINT

The manufacturing story is inseparable from the development story. ZC Rubber runs two proprietary technology platforms: the X-Tech System, primarily for truck and bus radial (TBR) tyres, and the Phecda Tech System, primarily for PCR tyres. Each integrates compound formulation, tyre structure, process engineering, simulation, testing and intelligent manufacturing within a single development framework.

Their defining feature is what the company calls the Forward-development Approach. Traditional development, it explains, “often starts from an existing product and improves it through repeated design and testing cycles”. ZC Rubber starts elsewhere: with the target performance, whether that is vehicle characteristics, duty cycle, climate, road conditions or customer requirements. The compound, tyre structure and manufacturing process are then built around those targets. “This shifts the workflow from repeated iteration to a more integrated, target-driven development process,” the company said.

That, it argues, is where the halving of development time comes from. The 50 percent reduction reflects ‘a more integrated digital development process’, combining engineering expertise with simulation, AI-assisted tools and closer links between R&D, testing and manufacturing. AI lets engineers evaluate more design options against defined performance targets, and virtual simulation cuts out unnecessary physical iterations.

How tightly these platforms are wired into live production data has not been shared publicly. X-Tech and Phecda, the company said, connect R&D, manufacturing and validation within an integrated development process, but the detailed real-time data architecture behind them ‘is not something we currently disclose publicly’.

Henry Shen, ZC Rubber’s Senior Vice President, has made the wider point in the context of the group’s recent State recognition. “Our objective is not simply to develop an individual material, tread pattern or manufacturing process,” he said. “X-Tech and Phecda are complete development systems that connect user requirements with simulation, materials, tyre engineering, manufacturing and validation.”

THE STATE PRIZE

That recognition is significant. ZC Rubber, together with Harbin Institute of Technology, has been awarded the Second Prize of China’s State Science and Technology Progress Award for a project titled ‘Key Technologies and Green Intelligent Manufacturing of High-Performance Tires’. It is one of the country’s highest state-level honours for scientific and technological innovation, and ZC Rubber says it is the only Chinese tyre manufacturer in the past decade to win it at the Second Prize level or above.

The company backs the claim with spending. In 2025, it invested around RMB 1.54 billion (approximately USD 226 million in R&D, equal to 3.43 percent of annual revenue, according to its annual report. The award, it says, recognises technologies that have ‘progressed beyond laboratory research into industrial application’.

GLOBAL FOOTPRINT

ZC Rubber has built a truly global footprint, combining a strong manufacturing base in China with an expanding network of operations across Europe, the Americas, Southeast Asia and beyond. In China, the company operates through multiple sites, including its headquartered in Hangzhou and facilities in Tianjin, Chaoyang, Jiande, Qingquan, Yonggu, Anji and Jintan, supported by dedicated units for recycling technology and automotive aftermarket services in Hangzhou.

Beyond China, ZC Rubber has established a European presence through ZC Rubber Europe GmbH and its Europe Technical Center, alongside ZC Rubber America Inc. in the United States, ZC Rubber Brazil IMP EXP LTDA in South America and ZC Rubber Thailand Co. Ltd. and PT. Matahari Tire Indonesia (MTI) in Southeast Asia.

The company is also preparing for further expansion, with new projects under development in Vietnam and Mexico (Marea Tire de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.) and a feasibility study underway in Egypt. Together, these locations allow ZC Rubber to serve customers closer to their markets, strengthen supply chain resilience and combine local insight with global technical expertise.

CUSTOMISATION WITHOUT THE PENALTY

The forward-development model has a commercial payoff: tyres tailored to where and how they will be used. Asked whether the platforms allow genuine mass customisation, including regional climates and EV-specific requirements, ZC Rubber answered ‘to a significant degree’.

“X-Tech and Phecda allow us to develop tyres around specific climates, road conditions, vehicle applications and performance targets, including EV-specific requirements,” it said. On the factory floor, flexible production lines adjust output as product mix and orders change. The company does not disclose a separate efficiency figure for customised production, though ‘the goal is clear: to increase product flexibility while keeping production efficient’.

The regional examples are concrete. In Asia, X-Tech underpins the X-Elite Truck Tyre Series. In Europe, it is applied to the WESTLAKE Gen II commercial lineup, with a focus on fleet efficiency, performance and regulatory requirements. Phecda sits behind the WESTLAKE ZuperAce Z-007 and GOODRIDE Solmax 1 passenger tyres, and technologies from both platforms have been applied across ARISUN’s full TBR and PCR ranges for the Americas.

“International markets do not have identical requirements,” Shen said. “A tyre developed for European highway fleets, Southeast Asian transport operations or passenger vehicles in the Americas must respond to different vehicles, roads, climates and customer priorities.”

WHAT COMES NEXT

Much of the technology commonly billed as next-generation is already in service at ZC Rubber. Automated logistics, AI-based visual inspection, process optimisation, digital simulation and virtual testing are all in use. Digital twins are applied in areas such as energy management, and a broader digital-twin virtual factory is part of the next-stage plan.

The company frames the coming three years as a period of deepening rather than reinvention: more smart-factory applications, more AI and industry-specific models and close attention to emerging technologies such as humanoid robotics ‘as they mature’.

That phrasing may be the most revealing thing about ZC Rubber’s approach. It is chasing results rather than headlines. As the company itself puts it, the launch of the Hangzhou plant marks ‘a new opportunity and starting point’, and its stated ambition is to become a world-leading tyre company with higher standards. Whether the lights stay on, it seems, is the least of its concerns.

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AMETEK recently completed its USD 5- billion all-cash acquisition of a portfolio of instrumentation businesses from Indicor.

The businesses, collectively known as Indicor Instrumentation, make equipment for industrial and scientific applications. Their products serve markets that overlap with AMETEK’s existing operations and generate recurring revenue from consumables, services and aftermarket support.

David A Zapico, AMETEK’s Chairman and Chief Executive, said: “We are excited to complete this highly strategic acquisition and to welcome the Indicor Instrumentation team to AMETEK. With its mission-critical solutions, deep technical expertise, and strong positions in attractive end markets, Indicor Instrumentation is an excellent fit with AMETEK. We also see meaningful opportunities to create value through integration into our proven operating model.”

Indicor Instrumentation is expected to contribute about USD 350 million to AMETEK’s sales in 2026 and to be modestly accretive to adjusted earnings for the year.

The acquired businesses will join AMETEK’s Electronic Instruments Group and Electromechanical Group, according to their products and market focus.

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The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has elected Joe Hinrichs as chairman of its Board of Directors, effective 7 October 2026. He will also chair the board's Governance and Executive Committees. Hinrichs joined the board in 2023 and succeeds Laurette Koellner, who will retire at the 2027 annual meeting under Goodyear's Corporate Governance Guidelines.

Hinrichs most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of CSX Corporation. Before that, he held numerous leadership roles at Ford Motor Company, including President of the Global Automotive Business, Executive Vice President and President of Global Operations, Executive Vice President and President of the Americas, President of Asia Pacific and Africa, and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ford China. He also led Ford Canada. Hinrichs holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Dayton and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Koellner previously held several leadership roles at The Boeing Company. She joined Goodyear's board in 2015, became independent Lead Director in 2019, and Non-Executive Chairman in 2024.

Hinrichs said, "I would like to recognise and thank Laurette for her leadership, dedication and unwavering commitment to Goodyear. On behalf of the Board, we are grateful for her many contributions throughout her more than a decade of service. I look forward to working alongside my fellow board members and the leadership team as we continue to innovate, strengthen our competitive position, create long-term value for our shareholders and build a stronger Goodyear."

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CEAT’s Chennai and Halol plants are the only tyre facilities globally with two WEF Global Lighthouse Network inductions, and the company has also won the Deming Grand Prize for manufacturing excellence.

Yet 30 km from Mumbai, CEAT Specialty’s 49-acre Ambernath plant tells a different story: tyres too heavy for automation, built instead around nitrogen curing, induction presses and orders as small as one unit – a bet that sustainability will win markets in Europe and America.

The stakes: an INR 5 billion investment in all-steel radial technology, capacity expansion to 160 tonnes/day and a Camso manufacturing deal Tolani pegs at up to USD 1 billion – turning a manufacturing constraint into a competitive edge.

Amit Tolani, Chief Executive of CEAT Specialty, does not talk about tyres the way most executives talk about their products. He talks about them the way an engineer talks about a puzzle that keeps changing shape. “The way to look at it is that the manufacturing processes that we follow – how modern they are, how capable they are, how technically efficient – that’s what matters,” he says, sitting inside the plant that has become the nerve centre of CEAT’s off-highway tyre (OHT) business.

That plant – the Ambernath facility, a division of Mumbai-headquartered RPG Group’s CEAT Limited – is not a conventional tyre factory. It builds tyres that can weigh up to over 600 kilogrammes, tyres too large and too heavy for the automation that has transformed the passenger-car tyre business. And it is this constraint, as much as any strategic masterplan, that has shaped how CEAT Specialty has chosen to compete.

A PLANT THAT CANNOT SIMPLY COPY THE ROBOTS

Ask Tolani why Ambernath has not adopted the wall-to-wall robotic automation seen at CEAT’s Chennai or Halol facility, and the answer is refreshingly unglamorous: physics. “PCR tyres can be lifted by an ordinary human being, or a forklift, or robots,” he explains. “For these tyres, which are 600–700 kg, it’s very difficult to have a conveyor that can just lift them.” In the processes that do lend themselves to automation – mixing, calendering, curing – Ambernath’s equipment, he insists, is ‘as modern as the Chennai plant. More modern’. The plant intends to formalise that claim in the coming months by pursuing Industry 4.0 certification.

Where the physical limits of scale end, digital ones have taken over. A SCADA system tracks steam lines running beneath the plant floor. Where a leak once required a worker to walk the line, take manual temperature readings and diagnose the fault, artificial intelligence now flags the location almost instantly. “The point time taken to identify the problem is close to zero,” Tolani says. Every tyre carries a digital identity from raw material to finished good; a single scan reveals the batch, the machine, the operator and the timestamp behind it. AI is also being trained on the plant’s visual tyre inspection – traditionally a human, eyeball-driven task – using high-resolution cameras to catch defects, and on optimising mixing recipes and cycle times, the invisible chemistry that determines how a tyre performs in a paddy field or a quarry.

CURING WITHOUT STEAM

The most technically striking claim to emerge from Ambernath concerns curing – the energy-intensive process of vulcanising rubber under heat and pressure that has, for a century, meant steam. “This plant has already started using nitrogen curing on one of the lines,” Tolani says. Alongside it sit two proof-of-concept induction curing presses – a steam-free process, while the nitrogen conversion has come via LMT. “There are two presses that are already commissioned here,” he says. “We’ve already started working in that direction, where we want to take a lead in this space.”

The bulk of the plant’s newest investment, however, is going into something more conventional in principle but strategically significant in intent: all-steel radial off-the-road tyres. CEAT Specialty has committed INR 5 billion to this latest phase of expansion, representing a decisive shift in product architecture. Where a car’s tyres are universally radial, only 60–70 percent of truck tyres have made that transition, and agricultural and OTR applications lag further still – agriculture because usage is seasonal, OTR because a fabric-belted bias tyre still does much of the heavy lifting. All-steel radial construction changes that calculus by delivering higher load-carrying capacity and greater comfort, attributes increasingly demanded not only by Indian buyers but, crucially, by European and American customers. “It’s for demand from the European market, the US market – and the Indian market is also growing in such a handsome fashion that we want to cater to it,” Tolani says.

LEAN BY DESIGN, NOT BY SLOGAN

CEAT’s manufacturing philosophy is inseparable from its most prized accolade: in 2017, CEAT became the first tyre company outside Japan to win the Deming Prize, the world’s most prestigious award for total quality management; in 2023, it became the first tyre company anywhere to win the Deming Grand Prize, a distinction held by only 33 organisations globally as of 2025. Inside CEAT, this discipline is branded QBM – Quality Based Management – a homegrown fusion of Total Quality Management, the Toyota Production System and Total Productive Maintenance.

“We are a Deming Grand organisation. That means we follow the philosophy of lean manufacturing – not to use resources or have any wastage in the process,” Tolani says. That philosophy is embedded, quite literally, in the plant’s straight-flow layout, which runs from raw material storage through mixing, stock preparation, tyre building, curing and final finish in a single unbroken line. Even small batch sizes, he says, are produced without the wastage, excess labour or lost efficiency – what the plant’s internal vocabulary calls ‘Muri’ – that might otherwise creep in.

That same lean instinct underpins one of Ambernath’s more unusual competitive claims: a minimum order quantity of one. In an industry historically built around economies of scale, the plant will build a single speciality tyre to a customer’s specification without demanding batch aggregation – a capability the company says few OHT plants worldwide can match. Self-managed teams on the shop floor plan and execute changeovers themselves, allowing a highly automated, digitally traceable line to pivot rapidly to low-volume, customised orders. A related innovation, branded Unistage, builds and shapes an agricultural or OTR radial carcass into its final toroidal form on a single drum rather than the conventional two-stage process, reducing the handovers.

AN R&D CENTRE BUILT FOR SPEED, NOT SCALE

CEAT Specialty operates a dedicated in-house research and development facility at Ambernath, distinct from the group’s broader R&D infrastructure, and Tolani is candid about why. Tolani says, “This business is very, very different. There is no Pareto here – no 80/20 rule where a handful of product sizes serve the bulk of demand. Because farm and off-highway equipment come in such a long tail of sizes and configurations, and because the plant supplies numerous international OEMs directly, the time taken to develop, validate and commercialise a new tyre has to be compressed.”

“We needed a dedicated facility, closer to the manufacturing, so that we can quickly pilot, quickly turn around,” he adds. A new Compound Laboratory, opened in September 2025, now anchors materials science work spanning OTR, agricultural and industrial segments, while AI-assisted testing has trimmed, by Tolani’s estimate, roughly a third off the time from concept to market. The centre’s pipeline currently spans all-steel OTR tyres, a newly launched forestry range, very high flexion (VF) agricultural tyres and expanding work in earthmoving and material handling.

CAMSO ACQUIRED FOR BRAND, CHANNEL AND CATEGORY

CEAT Specialty’s move into Camso – a name Tolani values at up to USD 1 billion in brand potential across agricultural tracks, power sport tracks and material handling – may be its most consequential strategic bet. “It was a natural fit for us in terms of completing our portfolio,” he says. Ambernath, built in 2018 solely for agricultural radial tyres, gains through Camso’s new OEM ties (Massey Ferguson, John Deere) and construction-channel access across South America and Europe.

Under a three-year Michelin agreement, CEAT can currently manufacture and sell only compact construction tyres and tracks under Camso, taking over end-consumer sales in that segment – with other categories opening up once the term ends. The impact is already visible: standalone, CEAT Specialty’s off-highway mix is 85:15 agriculture to non-agriculture; with Camso’s, it shifts toward 50:50.

THE NUMBERS BEHIND THE AMBITION

Ambernath is running at 105 tonnes a day, at 92–95 percent utilisation – ahead of schedule. A further phase, due within 45 to 60 days, will lift capacity to 160 tonnes. Camso, still integrating, runs at roughly 50 percent.

Off-highway tyres make up close to 20 percent of CEAT’s speciality revenue, with the agriculture-to-non-agriculture split narrowing from 85:15 to near 50:50 once Camso is included. Domestically, Tolani credits GST reforms for a strong OEM market, led by Mahindra and TAFE, while mining stays flat – a segment Camso’s construction heritage should help lift as the new all-steel OTR line comes online.

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