JK Tyre Unveils India’s First Tyre Buffing & Grinding Machine at NATRAX
JK Tyre & Industries has inaugurated India’s first precision tyre buffing and grinding machine dedicated to “wet grip on worn tyres” (WGWT) testing, at the NATRAX (National Automotive Test Tracks) facility in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh.
The new equipment complies with the international regulation ECE R117, which mandates the evaluation of tyre braking performance in wet conditions when the tread depth is worn down to 1.6 mm.
The machine will enable JK Tyre and other test users at NATRAX to prepare worn tyre samples across all vehicle categories, C1 (passenger cars), C2 (light commercial vehicles), and C3 (heavy trucks and buses), under one roof.
At the inauguration ceremony, Dr Raghupati Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director of JK Tyre, and Dr Manish Jaiswal, Director of NATRAX, officiated the launch. The move reinforces JK Tyre’s commitment to advanced technology, safety-centric innovation, and state-of-the-art test infrastructure.
JK Tyre has been associated with NATRAX since 2017, and this latest addition enhances its R&D and homologation capabilities, covering tyre performance evaluation at the vehicle level for handling, braking, wet grip, and noise. The company emphasised that building local test infrastructure helps reduce reliance on overseas labs and strengthens India’s self-reliance in tyre safety and validation. Motor India
Editor’s View
This development marks a significant leap in the Indian tyre industry’s testing and safety ecosystem. With the buffing-and-grinding machine for worn tyres now operational, tyre manufacturers in India gain access to world-class homologation tools and can validate “end-of-life” tyre performance locally.
This matters for the entire value chain, from raw materials to compound design to aftermarket replacement tyres, because real-world performance under worn conditions increasingly shapes regulatory compliance and brand trust. Tyre makers must now integrate test results from new conditions into design, ensuring long-term safety, sustainability, and customer confidence.
