BKT Europe drops Global OEM presidency and shifts to leaner sales structure

The Role created to drive OEM expansion under Ludovic Revel is discontinued, as EU regions will report directly to managing director Lucia Salmaso.

BKT Europe has revised the structure of its Global OEM Sales organization, eliminating the position of President Global OEM Sales and bringing all regional OEM units under the direct responsibility of managing director Lucia Salmaso.

The change, effective 24 November 2025, ends the collaboration with Ludovic Revel, who had been appointed to the role just over a year ago to spearhead BKT’s expansion in the original equipment (OE) channel. The company thanked him for his contribution and did not disclose further details on any successor structure beyond the new reporting lines.

According to BKT Europe, regional OEM teams will now report straight to Salmaso. The aim is to simplify decision flows and tighten commercial governance around key OEM accounts in agriculture, industrial and OTR applications.

The removal of the role contrasts with the way it was launched in late 2024.

When BKT first announced Revel as President Global OEM, the move was framed as a strategic step to strengthen its presence in the original equipment channel and make the brand more visible with major machinery manufacturers worldwide.

Revel brought nearly three decades of experience in the off-highway tire business, built at international manufacturers, and was tasked with:

• Driving BKT’s OEM growth strategy
• Coordinating a dedicated global OEM team
• Exploring new markets and development opportunities in the OE channel

Industry reports at the time stressed that he would report directly to Salmaso at BKT Europe, underlining the central role of the European head office in shaping global OEM strategy.

With the new organisational model, the dedicated layer represented by the Global OEM presidency disappears.

The timing is notable because BKT is not scaling back its OEM ambitions. On the contrary, it has been adding specialist roles in key regions. In late 2024 and through 2025, BKT announced new OEM managers for Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East, as well as fresh appointments in France and South America. The stated goal was to strengthen local engagement with OEMs while pursuing a global roadmap for the OE channel.

OEM strategy stays aligned with BKT’s 2030 roadmap

The reorganisation comes while BKT is rolling out an ambitious 2030 strategic plan.

Balkrishna Industries Ltd. (BKT) is an Indian tyre manufacturer headquartered in Mumbai. It specialises in off-highway tyres for agricultural, earthmoving, industrial, mining and related applications, with production sites in India and exports to more than 160 countries.

In recent years, BKT has added rubber tracks and new tyre categories to its portfolio, while continuing to build its presence as an OE supplier for heavy equipment manufacturers.

The group has set a target of around 2.6 billion dollars in revenue by 2030, backed by roughly 400 million dollars in new investments over the next few years. The roadmap focuses on three pillars:

• Reinforcing leadership in off-highway tyres
• Expanding the carbon black business
• Entering new tyre categories for the Indian market, including PCR and TBR

Within that plan, BKT has repeatedly highlighted OEM channels as a key lever to grow in agricultural, construction, mining and industrial segments, and to support new product lines such as rubber tracks.

OEM fitments on new machines from major equipment builders are a direct way to gain share in high-value off-highway niches, and to reinforce BKT’s brand in markets where it has historically been strongest in replacement.

Given that context, moving to a leaner OEM governance model looks less like a reversal on strategy and more like an adjustment in how decisions are routed inside the organization.

For now, BKT has not shared operational details beyond the removal of the role and the new reporting lines. The market will watch how the company balances centralized control from Seregno with the flexibility that OEM customers expect in local markets.