Klean Industries Inc announced that it has partnered with City Circle Group (CCG) to build a fully integrated, continuous tyre pyrolysis plant to recover carbon black and biofuel in Melbourne, Australia. Klean Industries provides technologies and solutions for resource recovery, waste recycling and the production of clean energy from waste. As for City Circle Group, it is a provider in demolition, decommissioning, remediation, excavation and recycling in Australia.

It is known that Australia has a waste problem with disposal fees that are continuing to rise. Klean further claims that end-of-life tyres and end-of-life plastics are piling up and being dumped in landfills all over the country. Through their partnership, Klean and CCG aim to solve this environmental crisis by putting their combined skillsets together to create meaningful change that will help Australia develop a low-carbon, circular economy while reinforcing the goal of zero waste to landfill. According to Klean, both parties see significant opportunities for creating hundreds of new and highly skilled cleantech jobs with enough project opportunities in Australia to invest billions of dollars into the Australian economy over the next decade.

Sharing his views on the partnership, Matt Skidmore, CEO, City Circle Group, said, “It is with great excitement that we announce this project and partnership with Klean Industries. The concept of waste-to-commodity recycling is something that fits within our vision to become a truly circular economy business that provides real and positive outcomes to our communities.”

Adding to this, Jesse Klinkhamer, CEO, Klean Industries, commented, “We are thrilled to be taking resource recovery to a whole new level in Australia. With CCG as our partner, we are going to define a new era in what it means to develop clean industries. Our industry partnerships speak to our credibility, and it is these relationships that support and enable our team to build world-class facilities that set the global standard in Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) but will also enhance Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to a level not seen before in Australia.”

Klean states that the two have been engaged in the final analysis of a Detailed Feasibility Study (DFS) to design and build a fully integrated tyre pyrolysis plant. The result thus far has illustrated a significant opportunity. As per Klean, the parties are now in the final phases of contract negotiations with feedstock providers and offtake parties for all the project output products which are being pre-sold. Klean claims that the parties plan to complete the DFS by the end of December 2022 and anticipate the project being financed before the end of the first quarter of 2023, with construction taking place in 2023 and operations starting in 2024.

A project site is already secured and planning permission and permitting are underway. According to Klean, the project is centrally located 45 kilometres northwest of Melbourne, Victoria. It has access to a highly skilled workforce. Given the ease of establishing and conducting business in Melbourne, Klean states that the decision to locate a tyre carbonisation facility is compelling and logical. This offers numerous short-term and long-term benefits to the area.

As per Klean, the Melbourne project includes Klean’s commercial scale, environmental-friendly scrap tyre carbonisation technology with a planned initial capacity of up to 120 metric tonnes per day (TPD). This is approximately 12,000 tyres per day and equates to approximately 40,000 metric tonnes per annum (TPA). Klean claims that the project is designed to convert the waste tyres into highly valuable recovered carbon black (rCB) and recovered fuel oil (rFO). This plant will be fully integrated with Klean’s proprietary tyre char upgrading technologies that enable the transformation of low-value tyre char into high-value carbon black replacements which can replace Virgin Carbon Black (vCB) by volumes of 10 percent up to 100 percent, depending on the specific application.

The CCG plant will also include recovered fuel oil upgrading technologies for the conversion of the recovered pyrolysis oil. The CCG facility will be ISO 9001, 14001 certified and all products will also be ISCC certified as circular raw materials, according to Klean. 

The resulting products from the Melbourne project will then re-enter the virgin raw material supply chain through the local marine fuel market, new tyre, rubber compounding and virgin carbon black manufacturing industries. Klean states that this enables these industries to create product circularity by re-integrating recovered resources back into the marketplace, enabling them to improve environmental performance and lower raw material product costs while also offsetting emissions associated with their respective industries.

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Dara Jehangir Bharucha, a respected stalwart of India’s rubber and polymer industry with a career spanning more than six decades, has passed away today. He was 90.

Born on January 12, 1936, in Mumbai, Bharucha graduated from St. Xavier’s College in 1955 before embarking on a distinguished professional journey in the technical side of the rubber sector. He began his career with Firestone Tyre Company in Bombay, working in its technical department during a formative phase for India’s tyre industry.

He later joined Philips Carbon Black Ltd in West Bengal, where he was associated with testing the first lot of carbon black produced in India — a milestone in the domestic rubber value chain. In 1972, Bharucha moved to Bayer, rising to become Regional Technical Manager and subsequently Technical and Development Manager at the company’s Thane headquarters.

Following his retirement, he continued contributing to the industry by joining the Bhimrajka Group in 1996, a leading distributor of performance polymers and chemicals in India. Even in his later years, Bharucha remained actively engaged with the All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA), participating in technical forums, seminars and industry deliberations.

Colleagues remember him as a technically rigorous professional with an unwavering commitment to industry development. His career mirrored the evolution of India’s rubber and polymer ecosystem — from import dependence to domestic capability.

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Sanjay Sharma, Head of Corporate Communication and Motorsport at JK Tyre & Industries Ltd, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 61. A central architect of organised racing in India, Sharma, widely known in Indian motorsport circles as “Hardy”, leaves behind a legacy that reshaped the country’s motorsport ecosystem over three decades.

Sharma joined JK Tyre & Industries Ltd in 1994 with a mandate to professionalise its fledgling motorsport division. At a time when structured racing pathways in India were limited, he built a formal competitive framework that would become the backbone of the sport domestically.

In 1997, he spearheaded the launch of the JK Tyre National Racing Championship, creating a sustained talent pipeline for aspiring drivers. The championship went on to nurture several Indian racers who would make their mark internationally, including Narain Karthikeyan, Karun Chandhok, Aditya Patel and Armaan Ebrahim.

Beyond circuit racing, Sharma broadened JK Tyre’s footprint across rallying, karting and grassroots motorsport development. In 2000, he was instrumental in introducing organised karting championships in India — a decisive step in creating an entry-level ladder for young drivers. His long-term vision emphasised early talent identification and structured progression to international competition.

Under his stewardship, JK Tyre also strengthened its presence in rallying, supporting prominent drivers such as Gaurav Gill, while expanding competitive platforms across formats. Colleagues and competitors alike credit Sharma with institutionalising professionalism in an industry that had previously operated in fragmented pockets.

Tributes from across the Indian motorsport fraternity poured in on Thursday, describing him as a mentor, strategist and relentless advocate for the sport. Many credited his administrative foresight and corporate stewardship for laying the foundation upon which India’s contemporary racing structure stands.

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At a recent European dealer conference held in Thailand, Prinx Chengshan introduced its strategic direction for the coming years under the theme ‘PRINX REVEAL 2026 THE FUTURE UNVEILED’. The company marked the occasion by launching a new brand slogan for the European market - FUTURE READY TIRES -underscoring its ambition to co-create a shared trajectory with its regional partners amidst an evolving industry landscape.

A central component of the event was a tour of the company’s Thailand Smart Factory, where delegates observed advanced manufacturing systems in action. Led by General Manager Xu Jiangang, the visit highlighted the facility’s intelligent production lines, digital oversight tools and commitment to corporate social responsibility. Li Chongbing from the R&D Centre elaborated on the technological foundations underpinning Prinx Chengshan’s tyre quality, while Wang Hongdian of the Marketing Centre outlined a five-year product roadmap for both commercial vehicle and passenger car tyres tailored to European customers. Meanwhile, Wu Longfeng, Manager of Customer Service Department at Quality Management Centre, introduced an updated 2026 Claim Policy designed to respond more effectively to market expectations and reinforce the company’s integrated ‘Product + Service’ approach.

Strategic vision took centre stage as Li Xinming, Deputy Director of the Europe & Americas Sales Centre, discussed the company’s ongoing evolution from a traditional tyre producer into a globally competitive industrial group. He credited much of this progress to the enduring trust of European partners and conveyed optimism that the Prinx brand – rooted in innovation, craftsmanship and forward-thinking design – would continue to gain momentum through these collaborations. Thomas Wohlgemuth, General Manager for Europe, elaborated on the new brand identity and confirmed Prinx’s official entry into the European commercial vehicle tyre sector in 2026, with sustainability embedded across research, operations and partnerships.

Adding a dynamic dimension to the proceedings, British racing driver Luke Garrett made a guest appearance. As a sponsored athlete in the 2025 FIA European Truck Racing Championship, Garrett shared his experiences competing on Prinx Chengshan tyres, offering attendees a tangible connection to the brand’s values of determination, aspiration and performance.

Beyond the formal agenda, the company curated an immersive cultural programme that enabled participants to experience Thailand’s natural beauty and build stronger interpersonal connections in a relaxed setting. Looking forward, Prinx Chengshan intends to deepen its investment in research and development while capitalising on its smart manufacturing footprint across China, Thailand and Malaysia. The company envisions a future defined by sustainable growth, longer product life cycles and green innovation – bringing Chinese intelligent manufacturing to an ever-widening global stage through close collaboration with its European allies.

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TVS Srichakra reported higher standalone and consolidated profits for the quarter to December 2025, supported by revenue growth and grant income, despite exceptional charges linked to labour reforms and voluntary retirement costs.

Quarterly performance

Standalone revenue from operations rose to INR 8.50 billion in the December quarter, from INR 7.47 billion a year earlier. Total income stood at INR 8.52 billion.

Standalone profit before tax, after exceptional items, was INR 1.90 billion, compared with a loss of INR 0.36 billion in the same quarter last year. Net profit after tax was INR 1.42 billion, against a loss of INR 0.31 billion a year earlier.

Standalone earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were INR 6.05 billion, representing a margin of 22.5 percent.

On a consolidated basis, revenue from operations rose to INR 9.17 billion, from INR 8.03 billion a year earlier. Profit before tax, after exceptional items, was INR 1.71 billion, compared with a loss of INR 0.56 billion. Net profit attributable to owners of the group was INR 1.12 billion, against a loss of INR 0.60 billion.

Nine-month performance

For the nine months, standalone revenue from operations increased to INR 24.77 billion, from INR 22.71 billion a year earlier. Net profit after tax was INR 4.81 billion, up from INR 2.64 billion.

Consolidated revenue from operations for the nine months rose to INR 26.62 billion, from INR 24.35 billion. Net profit attributable to owners of the group was  INR 3.51 billion, compared with INR 1.10 billion in the previous year.

Exceptional items and regulatory impact

Exceptional items included recognition of grant income of INR 1.88 billion under an investment promotion capital subsidy sanctioned by the Government of Tamil Nadu in November 2021. The grant is to be received over 12 years in equal annual instalments, subject to conditions, and has been accounted for under Ind AS 20 using the income approach.

The company also recognised incremental estimated obligations of INR 1.17 billion on a standalone basis and INR 1.21 billion on a consolidated basis under the new labour codes, mainly on account of employees past services. The codes became effective from November 21 2025, though supporting rules are yet to be notified.

Under a voluntary retirement scheme, the company spent INR 0.13 billion in the quarter and INR 0.51 billion in the nine months.

During the nine-month period, subsidiary Super Grip Corporation incurred severance expenses of INR 0.04 billion.

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