Given the fact that there are now restrictions on tyre imports into India, homegrown makers or those who have a manufacturing facility in the country, must make the most of it to offer the very best to the consumer. What will assist in the development of world-class tyres, Indian tyre industry major & market leader in Truck Bus Radial segment, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd., announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Automotive Test Tracks (NATRAX) towards the development and polishing of Wet Grip Test Track at NATRAX Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh.
NATRAX is one of the state-of-the-art automotive testing and certification centers under NATRIP, a flagship project of the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India. NATRAX consists of 16 test tracks, covering aspects such as speed, braking, off road, comfort, sustainability, noise, friction etc. The Wet Grip Test Track will be used to test the safety aspect of tyres that includes Wet Grip as per ECE R117 regulation, Wet Braking, Peak Brake Force Coefficient (PBFC), etc.
JK Tyre houses facilities ranging from static to highly dynamic tests, and also has the capability to conduct regulatory tests to performance level tests. It also uses state-owned testing centers under NATRIP (National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project) across India to perform both subjective and objective vehicle level tests. The company is constantly upgrading their test facilities that includes modernization of existing equipment and adding new equipment to meet the emerging needs of OEMs and regulatory requirements (national & international). Upon completion, JK Tyre will be testing its future range of revolutionary products at the Wet Grip Test Track located at NATRAX Pithampur.
Commenting on the occasion, Mr. VK Misra, Technical Director, JK Tyre and Industries said, “We are honored to be part of the government’s flagship project towards building competencies in automotive sector that are at par with the global standards. We have been working towards driving innovation and tech-excellence in the Indian tyre industry. With our experience and expertise, we are rightly placed to lead this project with NATRAX.”