Commenting on the initiative, JK Tyre & Industries Manufacturing Director Anil Makkar said, “We are strictly monitoring our water usage through the installation of water metres at key points in our manufacturing units, and constantly aiming to improve the water efficiency of our operations, along with reducing our use of groundwater”.
He further said, the company’s Kankroli and Chennai plants have already achieved zero raw water usage for processes.
“We use raw water only for drinking purposes in the two plants,” he added.
As an outcome of systematic initiatives over the last five years, the company claimed that it has emerged as “a global benchmark for the lowest raw water use per kg of tyre manufactured”.
“At JK Tyre, we have long recognised water availability as a business risk and therefore, we are focused on proactive assessment and planning for water security at all our manufacturing locations essentially through continuous improvement of water efficiency (water use per tonne of the finished product) of our operations,” Makkar said.
Besides water, the company said coal is another aspect that it has huge plans for.
By the financial year 2024-25, JK Tyre said it will replace 50 per cent of its coal usage with biomass.
“The shift would, however, entail significant investments as we will have to make changes in our boilers. We are also tying up for regular biomass supply,” Makkar said.
JK Tyre has a total of 12 manufacturing facilities with 9 in India and 3 in Mexico that collectively produce around 35 million tyres annually.
