From off-highway tyres to on-road — Balkrishna broadens its bets

The tire business was founded in 1987 by Rajiv Poddar’s father Arvind Poddar. Arvind Poddar built on the foundations of his father’s Mahabirprasad Poddar bicycle tire business, which started in 1954. From the beginning the company focused on the off-highway tire field, and from the mid-1990s exports picked up and became the firm’s mainstay.

Rajiv Poddar joined the business as executive director in 2008 and was promoted to joint managing director in 2013, leading the transition of the family business. Rajiv Poddar is married to Khushboo Poddar, the elder daughter of Manoj Modi, a close associate of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani.