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KAZAKHSTAN
ABS-1 Looks to OTR Repairs
The retreaders in Kazakhstan are valiantly fighting for their survival. The smaller retreaders are doing everything that they can to run their operations with limited resources. There is no support for the concept as cheaper tyres from the adjoining countries of China, Belorussia and Russia are finding their way into the price-sensitive market making their survival even more difficult. The skewed price difference between retreaded tyres and new low price tyres is killing the struggling retreading industry. “We have visited private and government bus and truck operators and explained the benefits of retreading to them. However, they are not convinced and they continue to prefer the cheap tyre options easily available in this market,” complained Aman Sitdikov of ABS – 1 based at Uralsk.
Uralsk is located around 2,500 km away from the Capital Astana, the city is in the north western Kazakhstan at the confluence of the Ural and Chogan rivers close to the Russian border. It is located on the western side of the Ural and considered geographically to be in Europe. Uralsk is an agricultural and industrial centre and is regarded as a major entry point for rail traffic from Europe and Siberia, servicing the many new oil fields in the Caspian basin and the industrial cities of the Southern Urals. ABS – 1 started operation about a year ago, retreading tyres in sizes varying from 22.5 to 17.5. The company sources tread rubber from India and Israel. When asked about the tread brand it uses, the company refused to share the name of the brands. When asked number of tyres it retreads in a month, Aman replied without giving any numbers, “They are too few.”
The company has recently forayed into truck tyre repairs too and is doing fairly well. Bolstered by its success in the truck repair, it now plans to move into the agricultural and OTR tyre repair sector, also. “Since Uralsk is known as an important agricultural and industrial center, we think that it will be good to start repairing agricultural and OTR,” Aman stated. Currently, the company is looking for suitable equipment for the planned foray. Currently, it runs its retreading operation on a plant imported from China. ABS-1 is equipped with one Chinese six tyre chamber.
Kazakhstan is a price sensitive market and there are hardly any high-end internationally known tyre brands such as Goodyear or Bridgestone coming in for retreading. Finding a good casing is a major issue in this country due to the widespread usage of low quality tyres. “We hardly have any options and look for suitable casings from the Russian and Chinese tyre brands available in this market,” stated Aman.
Uralsk, the third largest city in Kazakhstan is developing fast, but retreaders here are struggling
TOP QUALITY TREADS FOR ANY APPLICATION
COMMITTED TO THE ENVIRONMENT
2009
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