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UAE/OMAN
was the company’s best year so far, as the plant retreaded 500 tyres on average every month. Since then, the production has slightly improved and now the plant maintains an average of 550 tyres per month. Currently, the plant sources 8 tonnes of tread rubber from Midas each month.
“We are not underestimating the influence of Chinese tyres but they have the market of their own as do the global brands,” added Faisal The retreading community also feels that once the oil prices start firming up and China tyre prices also increase, retreading will once again be favoured.
The industry is also banking on the
Expo 2020 projects and hopes that market for retreading will pick-up sometime next year. The latest announcement is of the Dh10-billion Al Mamzar Beachfront project, with a possible unveiling of a mega development in Dubai World Central. Billions of dirhams worth of projects such as Bluewaters Island, Dubai Creek Harbor, Dubai Water Canal and Dubai theme parks are already underway, with the Aladdin City and Al Mamzar projects likely to break ground by next year. The majority of these attractions are set for completion before 2020 – the year when Dubai will host Expo 2020.
we are only partially operational. We don’t know how long we can continue like this.”
It appears that new Chinese tyres are now so cheap that it is becoming unviable to run a retreading operation in Oman. A new Chinese tyre is available at Omani Rial 65 to 115, Double Coin in Rial 115, while Bridgestone and Michelin are priced at Rial 180 to 250.
With long credit terms of up to 120 days being common, the capital of most small retreaders is often tied-up in the market making it difficult to retrieve it or run operations smoothly.
There are other operational hazards for retreaders such as no clear-cut
policy on retreading. Authorities are not well-versed with retreading and have issued fines to trucks running on retreaded tyres. Overloading is also a major issue in the Middle East, with drivers running overloaded trucks well above their permitted load carrying capacities. If any tyre bursts on road and if it is found to be a retreaded tyre, fleet owners are fined not for carrying goods above the permitted capacity but for running the truck on retreaded tyres, which of course is discrediting retreading.
“There is absolutely no support from the government and in the past few years, it has become difficult to run the plant,” said Nitin.
Al Sawari Faces up to Imported Tyre Challenge
The industrial township of Barka Al Sanaya is situated about an hour’s drive from the Omani capital Muscat and has been expanding rapidly in the last five years with labour being imported from India and Pakistan. Several small roadside retread shops are visible and are mostly run by Pakistanis with the exception of one larger shop larger shop Al Sawari Tyre Retreading run by an Indian from Kerala, However, business appears to no better for either.
Al Sawari’s retread plant started around 7 years ago in 2008, when there was hardly any development around. “This has become a big town in the last 7-8 years. Previously, there used to be two factories - our retreading unit and one across the road. More factories are opening up here in Barka in the next few years, which may change of face of the town in the years to come,” said Nitin Sasidharan, who grew up in Muscat, studied and is now running the retread plant with his father.
Al Sawari buys old casings from the market and also from major casing dealers, retreads and sells them to transporters. “We retread around 200 to 250 tyres per month, but there has been almost no action in the last couple of months, business is dull these days,” he said.
Uncertainty looms large over the plant as it has been only partially operational during the last quarter. “Chinese tyres are spoiling the retreading business here. People prefer to buy them even if they only last for one year,” he said. The company largely retreads the Double Coin brand from China as it says the rest of the Chinese brands are not good enough to retread.
On future plans or when the business is likely to revive, Nitin said, “We have no clue about it. It has continued to decrease over the past few months, now