Dr Raghupathi Singhania

Besides making 4,000 tyres for BEML, will you also be making OTR tyres for other buyers?
We already have a capacity of 35,000 OTRs per annum, which we manufacture for various clients. This includes both OEMs as well as demand from the replacement market.

Have you identified potential customers in the OTR export market?
The second phase of expansion, which will further increase capacity by 5,000 tyres, is a good opportunity for exports. We have identified North America and Latin America as potential markets for this product, and are in the process of identifying customers in other markets as well.

What level of growth do you foresee in the OTR and other tyre segments?
The present demand for OTR tyres in India is 95,000 per year, of which most ‘ultra large’ size tyres are imported. Demand in India is expected to grow by 10 percent in the next couple of years, by which time our capacity will stand augmented to 44,000 tyres per annum. The truck and bus segment is expected to grow by six percent annually whereas the car tyre segment is likely to grow by more than 12 percent.

As profits from OTR tyres are far greater than regular tyres, are you looking at growing your market share?
In the past few years, we have already increased our focus on OTR tyres. We had a market share of only 13 percent in this segment in 1995-06; this has now grown to 42 percent in 2008-09, making us the largest OTR tyre manufacturer in India. We are continuing this focus on leadership in this segment. Overall growth in the tyre industry during 2009-2010 is expected to be flat with the commercial tyre segment likely to experience a 2 to 4 percent decline and the passenger car tyre segment expected to close with low single-digit growth.

What is your market share in the passenger car radial tyres segment?
Our current market share for passenger car radials is nearly 21 percent and is expected to grow in the coming years. Our overall year-on-year growth is 15 percent and our unaudited turnover for the 18- month period ended March 31, 2009 was Rs 5,509 crore. Our export turnover for October 2007 to March 2009 was Rs 746 crore, which on an annualised basis works out to Rs 498 crore.