‘Approved laboratory’ status for JK Tyres

JK Tyres & Industries has become the first Indian tyre manufacturer to be awarded Approved Laboratory status from VCA (The Vehicle Certification Agency, UK. This status allows JK tyres to conduct its own testing to ECE Tyre Regulations 30 and 54 in their own facility. VCA will accept the resulting test reports as part of the approval process, without needing to witness testing. This is the culmination of intensive audits, which were carried out by VCA auditors during December 2010 on all JK Tyres plants, including Mysore, Banmore and Kankroli. Speaking at the handover ceremony, John Bragg – European Operations Director said VCA were very pleased to make this provision, making JK Tyres the first Indian tyre company to be awarded this responsibility. Global tyre manufacturers with this status benefit greatly in terms of efficiency and value. “We will keep carrying out Surveillance Audit periodically to make sure that all system requirements are in place and meeting Legislative requirements” he added. JK Tyre and Industries Limited Technical Director Vijay Kr. Misra outlined the importance of achieving global competence in Product Testing and mentioned that forming an association with VCA is a step forward to achieve their global aspirations. VCA – VCA is the designated UK Vehicle Type Approval authority and has approaching 40 years experience of supporting industry by providing internationally recognized testing and certification for vehicles, their systems and components (EU & ECE marking). A respected Management Systems Certification body, VCA also provides certification to ISO 9001, ISO TS 16949, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, Acorn (a phased approach to environmental certification) and EMAS. VCA has a dedicated presence in India and is working with the Indian Automotive and Auto Component industry to provide expert testing and certification services, supporting the export of automotive products to Europe.