India’s fourth-largest tyre maker Ceat Ltd is preparing for a dual-brand strategy after its largest-ever acquisition of the Camso brand, as it eyes global customers for construction, industrial and agricultural tyres in markets such as North America and Europe, managing director and chief executive Arnab Banerjee told Mint.
The Harsh Goenka-led RPG Group’s flagship firm aims to target customers who purchase tyres across categories and cross-sell Ceat and Camso products, enabling the brands to generate more revenue from the same customer.
The Mumbai-based company has invested over the past few quarters in building a logistics network and leadership team in these regions, preparing for the full transfer of Camso brand customers over the next few months.
“The biggest synergy will come in some of the customers who take both agriculture tyres and construction tyres and tracks. There are some customers who take all of this,” Banerjee said.
“So we have our own set of customers, Camso has its own set of customers, and there is a commonality, an overlap. So there is an opportunity to cross-sell to those customers. That will come from day one,” he added.
Camso has a presence in off-road tyres, wheels, rubber tracks, and track systems for the material handling, construction, agriculture, and powersports.
In December 2024, Ceat announced that it was acquiring the Camso brand’s off-highway construction equipment bias tyre and tracks business. In September 2025, the management said the brand name would be fully transferred to the company after a three-year licensing period.
Ceat specializes in on-road tyres, which are used in commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles, motorcycles and scooters.
The strategy could help target global construction equipment and agricultural machinery companies such as CNH and Kubota Corp.
Expansion into international markets
Banerjee's comments come as investors ask when the full benefits of the $225 million acquisition, announced in December 2024, will start to materialize, with the deal weighing on margins and increasing the firm’s debt burden.
During the 17 July earnings call, Ceat's chief financial officer Kumar Subbiah told analysts that the company needed more time to give clarity on the improvement in margins and realizing the full potential of the deal.
The questions came after Ceat’s net profit crashed 96% to ₹4 crore in the June quarter, owing to higher commodity costs and investments related to setting up networks worldwide to serve Camso's clients. Ceat’s shares have fallen 13% in 2026, as against 3.5% fall in the Nifty Auto.
The Canadian brand was acquired by Ceat from French Michelin in a bid to expand its presence in the North American and European markets, which it has identified as priority regions for growth in the next few years.
The push from Ceat to target growth in international markets and broaden its bets comes at a time when Indian companies are looking for new areas to tap for growth. Balkrishna Industries Ltd, better known for its BKT tyre brand, is diversifying into on-road tyres, while Raghupati Singhania-led JK Tyre & Industries Ltd is scouting for acquisitions.
The search for new growth avenues follows a period of robust domestic demand, with tyre makers benefiting from goods and services tax (GST) cuts in FY26. MRF, JK Tyre, Apollo Tyres and Ceat recorded sales revenue growth of 9-18% in FY26. Balkrishna Industries, however, posted more modest growth of 3.6%, reflecting its greater exposure to international markets, with around 70% of revenue coming from exports.
“Camso’s customers are used to getting serviced just in time through local warehouses. So in the US and Europe, we have set up quite a lot of warehousing. We are setting up a web of local networks from where we will get the same level of service which the customers enjoy,” Banerjee said.
“The executive committee travels to various parts of the world in touch with the reality there and gets in touch with the employees,” he added.
Focus on the US
Banerjee said the firm wants to position Ceat as a value-for-money brand, while Camso will be its premium offering in what he described as consolidated dual-brand play over the next few years.
Camso’s tyres are manufactured at two plants in Sri Lanka, which Banerjee believes gives the company greater flexibility to expand its manufacturing footprint beyond India and reduce its exposure to potential tariff-related disruptions.
For both Camso and Ceat, Banerjee noted the US can be a major market, with the build-out of its on-road product phase ongoing. Camso already has a presence in the market through its premium positioning.
Analysts noted that as the company fully integrates the Camso brand, opportunities for revenue growth and profitability increase, and it gains greater control over the supply chain.
“Camso’s recovery is expected to be back-ended as customer migration progresses, 60% completed in 1Q; 90% by September, with startup costs and underabsorption weighing on FY27 profitability before benefits accrue from FY28 onwards,” analysts at Emkay wrote in an 18 July note.
“Factoring in healthy demand outlook across segments and margin improvement in H2 on tight industry demand-supply dynamics, we build in ~14%/15%/17% revenue/earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization/profit after tax CAGR over FY26-29E,” the note added.