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UAE/OMAN
Nitin Sashidharan of Al Sawari Tyre Retreading
To survive in the difficult market conditions, Al Sawari is planning to enter the new tyre business in the near future. ‘This area is developing fast and a new tyre business would pick-up much new business as new companies are building factories all around in Barka al Sanaya,’ he said. The retreading company also diversified into the scrap tyre business about year ago. “We bring in old tyres, cut them into three
pieces and sell them to companies extracting oil,” Nitin said.
Despite the tough market scenario, the retreader still looks at Oman with optimism. “Oman is a huge country, second largest in the region after Saudi Arabia. It has lots of development and construction is going on all over the country, and that is positive for any industry,” Nitin stated.
market compared to the UAE.” The plant, located on a 600 sqm site, is expected to be operational by October this year.
Junais has ambitious plans to grow in the Saudi market and is looking at starting lean and mean operations that retread around 500 tyres per month. “We are now looking at opening smaller plants in various parts of Saudi Arabia.” The company plans to have five small plants in the various parts of Saudi Arabia in the next few years.
Junais represents Thrissur, India based Cochin Rubber in the Middle East and markets their tread rubber and other products. “The Saudi plant would cater the Eastern parts of the country, like Al Khobar and Dammam,” he informed.
The closed plant in Azman, was retreading around 300 tyres each month but has been moved to Saudi as retreading has become highly competitive in the UAE due to the presence of more than two dozen retreaders.
The prevalence of long credit terms in UAE was also a major factor in moving out of the UAE market. “When credit crossed six months, we decided to stop offering credit and volumes started coming down. When it became difficult to run the plant, we closed down,” explained Junais.
The group already has a wide presence in Saudi Arabia with an operational plant in Jeddah retreading about 700 tyres per month.
Al Khaleej to Focus on UAE Market
The evolving market scenario has forced retreaders in the UAE market to rework their strategies and exclusively focus on their home operations. Al Khaleej, one of the key retreaders, has ambitious expansion plans to grow in the whole of the Middle East market. Besides the tough scenario in the domestic UAE market, civil strife is prevalent in other markets in the region such as Iraq and Syria. “We were planning to grow all over the Middle East and have plans to set-up plants in Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, but due to tough market conditions in the UAE market, we have altered our expansion plans for the time being,” said Sam Thomas of Al Khaleej Tyre Retreading Factory LLC.
The Sharjah based Al Khaleej has the capacity to retread 36 tyres per day, “but we are now doing 24 tyres per day on a 12- tyre chamber,’ he informed. The company continues to be concerned about the ongoing civil wars in adjoining countries like Iraq, Syria and more recently in the Yemen. “These markets are closed to us for now. Previously, fleets from Iraq, Syria and Yemen would visit the UAE and buy containers of retreaded tyres, but those customers have stopped coming due to the conflicts,” said Thomas.
Al Khaleej sources tread from the Ankeleshwar, Gujarat based tread rubber producer United Rubber, and is among the certified retreading plants in the UAE
Sam Thomas of Al Khaleej Tyre Retreading Factory LLC
Hero Retreading System Plans Expansion
in Saudi Arabia
With the UAE market overcrowded and subject to tightening retreading standards, retreaders are looking to other prospective Middle Eastern markets for growth. A key target
city in Saudi Arabia and the whole Gulf Cooperation Council, and is located on the coast of the Persian Gulf. Junais has sold off his own retreading plant registered under
Junais Kaniyath of Cochin Rubber
area is Saudi Arabia, where the retreading industry is growing.
“We are setting-up a new 1,000 tyre per month retreading plant in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia,” informed retreader Junais Kaniyath, who is based in Azman in the UAE.
Al Khobar is 450 km from the Capital Riyadh and is the largest
the title Ozone Tyres in Azman and has registered his Al Khobar venture under the name of Hero Retreading System.
When asked what is driving him to start a new plant in Saudi Arabia, Junais said, “Saudi Arabia is a big market and retreading is growing. In addition, overheads are less in that
38 Retreading Business