India’s MTPL starts production at off-highway tire plant

Panoli, India – Mahansaria Tyres Private Ltd (MTPL) has started commercial production at its greenfield off-highway tire manufacturing facility in Panoli, in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

With an initial investment of €90 million, the plant has the capacity to produce 40 kilotonnes of tire products per year in phase 1, said MTPL in a 27 Sept statement. 

Spanning 127 acres, the facility will manufacture Ascenso-branded, farming, industrial and construction as well earthmover tires.

The plant was inaugurated virtually by the chairman, Ashok Mahansaria and managing director and CEO Yogesh Mahansaria, said the company statement, without giving a date.

Commenting on the start of “a new journey in the off-highway tire segment”, Yogesh Mahansaria, said his goal was to build “a strong presence” in the market. 

According to the company official, the plant has “a robust product offering” from bias to steel radial, and all steel belted tires.

“We are extremely positive about the global market and believe that the market has significant opportunity and room for a new brand in the value segment,” he added.

Earlier this year, MTPL acquired a majority stake in the Dutch off-highway tire distributor European Agriculture Tyre Distributor (EATD).

The acquisition, said Mahansaria, was the company’s “first step” in building a distribution network in the highly competitive European market. 

The Mahansaria family has over 30 years of experience in the tire industry: building two major off-highway tire businesses: Alliance Tire Group and prior to that Balkrishna Industries Ltd (BKT). 

Yogesh Mahansaria is the former majority owner and CEO of Alliance Tire Group and prior to that an executive with BKT Tyres Ltd. He orchestrated the purchase of Israel's Alliance Tyres in 2007 and then sold majority interest of the expanded enterprises in 2013 to the global investment firm KKR & Co. LP.

Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. acquired ATG in 2016 from KKR, the Mahansarias and other minority shareholders.