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KENYA
Harchand Singh, Managing Director, Singh Retreads Ltd.
Rift Valley to Focus on OTR Retreading
With increasing competition in the truck tyre retread market due to the presence of low-price imported tyres, Kenyan retreaders are now adding OTR retread capabilities. One of the new entrants in the retreading sector is a case in point.
“We have opened our new plant in March, shipped equipment from India and started precure retreading with a 3-tyre autoclave,” informed Nilesh Vekariya, Director, Rift Valley Retreads Ltd. “We have just finished the installation of 15 steam moulds/bonders for OTR
“The rubber is on the way and will hit the Mombasa port by the end of September or early October. We hope to commence OTR retreading by the first half of October,’ said Shailesh Shah, Director.
Rift Valley orders tread rubber for truck tyres from Hyderabad based Vamshi, while it is buying custom- made hot cure rubber from a tread rubber maker based in Kerala. Currently, Rift Valley retreads 5 truck tyres per day with monthly turnover of around 200 tyres.
have added three new moulds of sizes 26.5/25 (Grader Tyre), 12.5/80/18 (Bobcat/JCB) & 23.1/30 (Agriculture Tyre),” he informed. The plant has more than 15 agri tyre moulds for retreading 250 tractor tyres each month by the conventional process.
Long credit and low retreading prices continue to be the major challenges of the industry in Kenya, with the shrinking difference between new tyres and retreads remaining a major concern for the retread industry. Moreover, good casings of brands like Bridgestone and Michelin are
not available in the market. “70 per cent of the tyres retreaded at our plant are Chinese tyres now,” said Singh.
The company sources tread rubber from Midas and Vipal’s Tortuga brand in equal proportion for the 1,400 truck tyres it retreads by precure process each month at its Nairobi plant.
Singh Retread has also forayed into new tyre retailing and has floated a separate subsidiary Mercury Tyre Ltd. It imports new Chinese tyres of almost all popular sizes and markets them in the Kenyan market.
retreads also. We have a bigger OTR operation as we plan to primarily focus on OTR retreading, but we will also offer truck retread services to widen our product range.”
The plant is located outside Nakuru in the middle of the farm land overlooking a 20 acre quarry owned by Rift Valley. The company has already ordered the required tread rubber for its conventional OTR operation.
Nilesh Vekariya & Shailesh Shah, Directors, Rift Valley Retreads Ltd
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