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KENYA
Suresh L, Managing Director, Nobel Tyres Ltd.
retread around 60 tractor tyres each month and we hope to raise the volumes by the middle of 2017,” explained Suresh L, Managing Director, Nobel Tyres Ltd.
Nobel started tractor tyre retreading by the hot process in January 2016 with one size of 18.4-30 and, after receiving positive response, has now added three more sizes 16.9-30, 13.9-24 & 18.4-30. The company has plans to add more sizes by the end of 2016.
Nakuru, Kenya’s fourth largest city, is around 160 km from Nairobi and is regarded as the key urban centre in the mid-west of the country. The plant has almost doubled production of pre-cured truck retreads to 700 tyres each month compared to levels three years ago when in its first year of operation. “We could retread more than 1,000 tyres per month if there was no threat from the low price tyre imports which started a couple of years ago,” he stressed.
In 2012, tyre imports from the Far East first started appearing on the Kenyan landscape, and initially sold for a whopping 35,000 Kenyan Shillings. However, in a span of three years, their prices have fallen by half to 16,000 Shilling a piece. “We retread truck tyres in size 315 for around 12,000 Shilling,” he informed. The plant runs on equipment supplied by the Coimbatore based firm Rajmahal, also among the stakeholders in the venture among Indian partners. Despite the surging influx of low- price tyre imports, the company hopes to surpass production targets of 1,000 truck tyre each month by the middle of 2017. The company imports tread every quarter from the Bengaluru based Indian tread manufacturer Bremels.
Kingsway to Launch Private Tread Brand for Budget Sector
With the Kenyan market becoming highly price-sensitive due to the presence of low price tyre imports, even the top-of-the-line retread companies are bringing in rubber to cater to the market segment where price matters most. Kingsway Tyres is working on an idea to introduce a private brand to shore up volumes shortly. “We are seriously thinking in terms of bringing a private brand that gives more value to the customer,” said Gautam Ghai, Chief Sales Officer, Kingsway Tyres Limited. The brand would most likely be
introduced to the market in the first or second half of 2017.
It would be a premier rubber branded by Kingsway and could be custom manufactured out of the country as per its specs. “It will be a tier-2 premier brand to make our business more viable, increase volume and bring down the cost,” he stated.
Kingsway Tyres provides tyre retreading solutions for truck and bus tyres through Recamic (Michelin Retread Technologies) throughout Kenya with retreading facilities in