JK Tyre has developed tyres for cranes

Indian company JK Tyre has introduced its first tires specifically designed for aerial work platforms, aiming to challenge European and Chinese manufacturers that currently dominate this sector. This was stated by Debashish Hunty, head of the OTR department at JK Tyre, in the sidelines of the Excon 2025 exhibition, adding that other Indian companies, such as MRF and Apollo Tyres, are also actively working to capture this segment.

According to him, when performing aerial work, speed has a lower priority, and stability comes to the fore, since when a worker is at a height of several tens of meters, even minor vibrations on the ground can turn into dangerous swaying of the work platform. For this reason, the new tires, called Sky Grip, are equipped with a tread pattern featuring wide central blocks, as well as "super-thick" sidewalls that reduce the risk of damage when coming into contact with sharp objects on construction sites.

Most tires for aerial work platforms are filled with foam, which replaces air to prevent punctures and tipping of the machine, and the Sky Grip tires have a reduced internal cavity, meaning less foam is required and customers' operating costs are reduced, according to JK Tyre.

Hunty notes that for JK Tyre, entering the new segment is a logical step, as the company already has a very strong position in the market for crane tires (with a 70% share in the OE sector in India), and thanks to cooperation with leading industry players such as Action Construction Equipment, Escorts Construction Equipment, and Sany, experience has been gained that will now be used in creating tires of a new category.

JK Tyre's Sky Grip tires are designed for use on any type of surface and have been released in size 355/55D625.