CHAPTER – 1
INTRODUCTION

1. INDUSTRY PROFILE

Technology generation in the Indian tyre industry has witnessed a fair amount of expertise and versatility to absorb, adapt and modify international technology to suit Indian conditions. This is reflected in the swift technology progression from cotton (reinforcement) carcass to high-performance radial tyres in a span of four decades. Globalization has led to the linking of the economies of all the nations and therefore major Indian players in the tyre industry are pursuing global strategies to enhance their competitiveness in world markets. The present section broadly undertakes an overview of the Indian tyre industry through an examination of its growth trends with respect to production, exports and acquisition of technological capabilities.

Key Features
At present there are 40 listed companies in the tyre sector in India.
Major players are MRF, JK Tyres, and Apollo Tyres & CEAT, which account for 63 per cent of the organized tyre market. The other key players include Modi Rubber, Kesoram Industries and Goodyear India, with 11 per cent, 7 per cent and 6 per cent share respectively. Dunlop, Falcon, Tyre Corporation of India Limited (TCIL), TVS-Srichakra, Metro Tyres and Balkrishna Tyres are some of the other significant players in the industry.
While the tyre industry is largely dominated by the organized sector, the unorganized sector is predominant with respect to bicycle tyres.
The industry is a major consumer of the domestic rubber market. Natural rubber constitutes 80% while synthetic rubber constitutes only 20% of the material content in Indian tyres. Interestingly, world-wide, the proportion of natural to synthetic rubber in tyres is 30:70
The sector is raw-material intensive, with raw material accounting for 70% of the total costs of production
Total production figures in tonnage: 11.35 lakh MT