JK Tyre & Industries (JK Tyre) on Thursday said that Germany-based DEG—Deutsche Investitions—und Entwicklungsgesellschaft will provide a long-term loan of Euro 30 million to expand production capacities at the company’s site in Madhya Pradesh.

“We are pleased to be associated with KFW-DEG for providing funding of Euro 30 million for our Passenger Car Radial (PCR) tyre expansion project being set up for an estimated cost of Euro 114 million. The said investment will further strengthen JK. Tyre’s market presence in the PCR segment and foster economic and social development in the Country,” Raghupati Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director of JK Tyre & Industries, said. JK Tyre is a green company committed to reducing carbon intensity by 50 percent by 2030, he said.

In the past years, the company has already initiated various transformative measures for adopting a resilient and more sustainable position. For example, JK Tyre already meets 40 per cent of its energy needs through green electricity that it produces itself and isranked among the top three companies in terms of lowest in energy consumption globally, the company said.

The new loan will help to continue this transformation, for example, by allowing the expansion facility’s boiler to be operated using biomass rather than coal. JKTIL is also currently developing tyres made of recycled material, which are expected to be market-ready soon, the company said.

In recent years, DEG has geared its strategy increasingly towards shaping solutions for a sustainable and economically successful transformation together with its customers. This also includes using natural resources as responsibly as possible. DEG has further expanded its range of expert advice and funding offers to include services such as resource efficiency checks, it added.

“The JK Organisation is a longstanding customer of DEG’s. We are now looking forward to working together withi ts tyre company as well. Our portfolio companies share a clear commitment to transformation, to the UN’s environmental and climate goals, and to reducing carbon emissions substantially,” Joachim Schumacher, a member of the DEG Management Board, said.