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KAZAKHSTAN
market penetration is still only around 16 per cent,” he commented. Therefore, the market size of the branded tyres should swell for the benefit and growth of the retreading sector. “The Chinese and other
regional brands are not good enough for retreading and majority of them reduced to carcass only fit to discard causing a casing shortage for the struggling retreading industry. Currently, the company is repairing
one of the largest OTR sizes in Kazakhstan market, 51 inch diameter tyres. KTR is using Marangoni equipment and 3.5 metre diameter autoclave from Turkish company Akar Makina, which has the capacity
of 2 big OTRs or 8 smaller. The company operates in the middle to low end category due to the price sensitive nature of the market.
KAZ T-REMA International Opens Kyrgyz OTR Repair Centre
After setting up an operational base in the industrial city of Karaganda in Kazakhstan, KAZ T-REMA International (KTR International) is looking at opening the markets of adjoining CIS states like Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. KTR International has opened an OTR repair centre in the Kumtor gold mine site. “We opened the OTR repair shop in May,” admitted Onur Aydin, Director, KTR International. He further explained, “Kumtor is one of the highest gold deposits in the world, situated in the Southern region of the Central Tien- Shan at an altitude of 4,000 metres above the sea level.” The deposit is located at 350 Km from Bishkek, the Capital of Kyrgyz Republic. According to Soviet experts, the gold reserves are estimated to be approximately 700 tonnes, including 316.5 tonnes that can be mined by the open-cast mining method. “It is difficult to bring the big OTRs all the way to our base in
Karaganda. It is a good idea to have a repair facility there itself,” stated Onur Aydin.
The company has just started operations at the gold mine site. “It is too early to comment on the numbers,” Onur commented. He informed that the Kumtor gold mine has more than 100 mine vehicles. KAZ International has a long experience in repairing and retreading OTR tyres and the company has observed an opportunity in the area. Interestingly, retreading is not very popular in the region as there are hardly any retreading plants operating at big volumes in the whole CIS region. However, the mine is run by a North American company and it understands the necessity of having this kind of tyre repair operation nearby. “It has been planned for quite some time and we know that mining vehicles at the mine site require this kind of operation,” added Onur.
After opening
operations in
Kyrgyzstan, KAZ
International is
looking towards
opening another
in Uzbekistan
too. “We have a
representative in
Uzbekistan and
are working
towards opening
that market for
OTR soon,”
Onur assured.
KAZ is an official
dealer of
Michelin OTR
and Industrial
tyres in the
region. When asked about plans
of opening some more markets in the region, Onur confided,
“We may also enter Turkmenistan in the near future but currently, we are
Kumtor gold mines provide ample OTR work for KAZ T REMA
focusing on the streamlining operations in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan before venturing into any new territory,” Onur emphasised.