As mining and construction operations increasingly shift to continuous-duty cycles, drivetrain and mobility specialists are rethinking productivity, durability and uptime, writes Upendra Kasbekar.
At EXCON 2025, beyond the display of large machines and heavy iron, attention turned to the subsystems that ultimately decide whether equipment can operate reliably around the clock. With rising payloads, tighter project timelines and shrinking tolerance for downtime, components such as transmissions and tyres are becoming critical productivity enablers rather than supporting hardware. This shift was clearly reflected in the showcases by Allison Transmission and JK Tyre, each addressing a distinct but interconnected layer of the construction and mining equipment ecosystem.
Transmission as a Productivity Enabler: Allison
For mining and heavy construction fleets, vehicle availability is often the defining performance metric. Allison Transmission’s presence at EXCON 2025 centred on this reality, highlighting its TerraTran automatic transmission, developed for high-GVW rigid dump trucks operating in continuous-duty environments. Unlike conventional systems that rely on manually selected crawler gears, TerraTran is a true fully automatic transmission, managing gear shifts seamlessly across operating conditions.
Designed for large mining dump trucks, the platform reduces driveline stress, improves cycle times and lowers driver fatigue factors that directly influence uptime in 24×7 operations. Allison also highlighted its expanding manufacturing footprint in Chennai, where the company is setting up assembly lines for its 6000 and 8000 series transmissions, targeted at 65-tonne and 100-tonne class mining trucks. Local manufacturing of these heavy-duty transmission platforms underlines Allison’s long-term commitment to the Indian mining market and supports faster service response and higher localisation.
Ground Contact and Endurance: JK Tyre
If transmissions manage power delivery, tyres ultimately translate it to the ground. JK Tyre used EXCON 2025 to showcase application-specific Off-the-Road (OTR) tyres engineered for demanding construction and mining environments. Among the key introductions was the SKY GRIP (355/55D625) tyre, designed for aerial work platforms and boom lifts , where stability, traction and safety at height are critical.
The company also expanded its GTL PLUS range with 14.00-25 and 23.5-25 sizes , catering to backhoe loaders and wheel loaders respectively, focusing on durability under frequent loading cycles. For underground mining applications, the 14.00-20 VEM AS-UG tyre features reinforced construction and specialised compounds to withstand abrasive conditions and extended duty cycles.
Subsystem Thinking Takes Centre Stage
EXCON 2025 highlighted a clear industry shift: productivity gains are increasingly driven by how key subsystems work together under real-world conditions. By focusing on transmission reliability and tyre endurance, Allison and JK Tyre demonstrated how component-level engineering is becoming central to enabling safe, high-uptime, 24×7 construction and mining operations in India.
