When it comes to COVID-19, BKT (Balkrishna Industries) has not been exempt from having to face an extraordinary and truly complex emergency. It is a situation that needs to be managed for the whole group at an international level.
For BKT, the number one priority is and has always been the safety of employees and workers. The group continues to carefully follow the guidelines set by the various countries where it is present to minimise risks arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, in recent months BKT’s reactive force and resilience have never been found wanting, and it has reorganised all its internal and external processes to be ready to restart immediately based on government decisions.
On April 27, tyre production was quickly restarted at all BKT’s Indian plants, thanks to constructive dialogue between the company and local authorities.
In conjunction with the restart of production, BKT was also able to restart raw material supplies and overseas shipments, destined for both the original equipment and parts sectors.
Thanks to the task force which developed the operational plan for employee safety and to the supply chain team which stayed in constant contact with raw material suppliers, production restarted without wasting a single second.
The task force immediately studied and implemented the operational plan– the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)– which was put to and approved by the Indian government and by local governments.
As for employees working in Indian plants, BKT has equipped the production facilities with numerous measures: distancing between employees and using some devices and physical dividers for departments and workstations; the reorganisation of shifts to enable distancing; the construction of accommodation for employees who can then avoid using transport; the installation of body temperature sensors; and the introduction of a medical examination for all workers at the beginning of their shift with a doctor who is always present in each plant.
BKT’s Mumbai headquarters adopted smart working as soon as the Indian government started the lockdown, thus ensuring continuity of customer service and sales support. This means of working is still active in India, without any activity ever having been stopped.
The same method has also been used by BKT Europe and its logistics, technical support, marketing, customer service and sales support. Despite being at the centre of the storm, the Italy-based European subsidiary has remained in constant contact with its European original equipment customers, handling every situation with all due care.
BKT Europe follows the Italian government’s directives and has implemented all the actions required by the regulations, such as reorganising workspace to respect distancing requirements, using masks in work environments and continually sanitising premises.
Lucia Salmaso, CEO of BKT Europe, said: “This situation has put us to the test, as it has everyone, but resilience is one of the founding values of our company. That is why we look to the future with determination and a profound sense of responsibility. If we look at the ‘positive’ side, after such a long period of isolation, the team is even more united than before because the physical distance has further strengthened our spirit of belonging.”
At this delicate time, technology can play a truly essential role, supporting the fulfilment of each new idea and approach.
“By having the right skills in the company, BKT has been at an advantage in digitalising some activities that were previously conducted in a more traditional way,” Salmaso added. “In this sense, the emergency has accelerated, I would say in many sectors, a technological evolution that would probably have taken years to bear fruit.”
As mentioned, BKT responded quickly to the emergency, since it had already been using cloud solutions for the business for some time. Hence, it very quickly organised smart working, having already acquired the necessary mindset and being able to count on the support of all those technological tools essential to collaborate remotely and efficiently.
The company has also provided technical and in-depth training to European distributors, making available technical sessions conducted live by field engineering teams. This initiative has been very successful and highlights everyone’s desire to remain active and seize every possibility that the situation offers.
Customer support activities have been constant during the emergency phase. The company has never stopped handling all incoming requests, starting obviously with any emergencies. Even in the most difficult period, BKT has continued to supply products.
“It’s hard to predict now how the market will react, it depends on many factors,” Salmaso added. “It could be even faster than we think, much will also depend on the support that the various governments around the world make available to companies to mitigate the huge losses incurred. It is certainly necessary to abandon overly rigid approaches and put into practice genuine solidarity between the various countries, reaching out to those who have paid the highest price for the pandemic.
“In my career, I have seen many ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ and each time I faced the situation by putting on a smile and rolling up my sleeves because challenges are the best ingredient for a dynamic market. Without challenges, we have no opportunity to evolve, think creatively, find solutions. I am sure that after an initial period of ‘disorientation’, business will be hectic and with the highest level of innovation ever.”
Salmaso says there has been a slowdown in the off-highway tyre market, but it is gradually recovering and is in a “dynamic rather than static” situation.
She continued: “It is difficult to establish the future evolution of the market now since the top priority is managing and solving the healthcare emergency. It is clear, however, that over time, all actors are finding alternatives and solutions to face a changing market that needs to continue not only in order to live but to evolve.
“After a difficult situation worldwide, there is, therefore, the enthusiasm of starting over; a push that can only do good for all sectors, including the specialised areas of land movement, construction, quarrying and mining.”
BKT recently published a booklet that brings together the solidarity initiatives that management and all BKT employees adopted during the pandemic, testifying to the great compassion of the “BKT family” which, in this emergency, teamed up to intervene in Italy and Europe, North America and India.
This booklet stems from BKT’s strong sense of responsibility to the community; from the need to set a good example as a recognised brand, able to positively influence the public and thus push others to follow its example.
From the strength of the “family” came the initiative to donate a full day’s pay, which saw the participation of 2,000 BKT employees from all continents. The money raised has been donated to several projects in which the BKT Foundation is engaged, as it works hard to support various initiatives in the field of solidarity.
This fully reflects BKT’s philosophy of work, always ready to engage for a better future. The company has never forgotten its roots in India, a country seriously affected by the emergency, where the company has provided those most in need with over 400,000 packages of ready-to-eat food and 60,000 packages containing various ingredients, such as flour, oil, salt and rice.
BKT has also donated 25,000 PPE kits to healthcare personnel, i.e. disposable coveralls for the care of COVID-19 patients, complete with hood, mask, gloves, and shoe covers. At Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, BKT then donated hemodynamic monitors, important components in ventilators.
In Italy, the company has contributed to the Cesvi (Italian NGO) project for the home delivery of basic necessities to people from at-risk or vulnerable categories.
Moreover, BKT’s US headquarters donated funds to Samaritan’s Purse, an international organisation which manages healthcare emergencies and built a field hospital in New York’s Central Park at the peak of COVID-19.
In India, BKT will be soon introducing ultra-large off-highway tyres for higher capacity rigid dump trucks.
Speaking to Aggregates Business International, Rajiv Poddar, joint managing director of Balkrishna Industries, said: “Demand is slow and competition is getting tougher in the Indian and global OTR markets. To drive business, we are working on multiple areas. This includes widening our product portfolio. The key initiative is production of new ‘ultra large’ OTR tyres for rigid dump trucks. The second major strategy is towards keeping our operating costs low to pass on benefits to customers. In addition, we are exploring newer possibilities to improve product support so customers are able to derive optimum total lifecycle benefits from our tyres. BKT enjoys a strong brand recall in both the global and domestic markets. Our tyres are in great demand as they are of very superior composition, with an innovative tread design that helps lower the cost of operation per km with resultant lower fuel costs per hour.”
The company is also setting up a new off-highway tyre production unit at Aurangabad in Maharashtra, western India, following the closure of its existing facility there. BKT’s Bhuj production site has started producing carbon black for the company’s tyres, while also selling it to third parties.
