Page 51 - RB-82-17-3

INDIA
Elgi’s Indian Franchisees Expect Growth of the Retreading Market
Brothers MLM Prasad and Krishna Prasad of MRR Tyre & Tread
Elgi is a global supplier of retread equipment and materials. The Indian-based group offers both retreading materials and knowhow, and also a full range of retreading equipment that has found a global acceptance in the repair and retreading sector.
In India, Elgi is one of the main retread franchise operators, and in this issue Retreading Business visits five of Elgi’s leading exponents of the craft in India. Each of the five retreaders has a positive view and is planning on growing their business at a time when much of the global retreading sector is tightening its belt against the challenges of the global market. Instead of the usual complaints about Chinese tyres and a reduction in volume, these five key retreaders are all seeing, or are all planning expansion in the coming months.
In Karnataka, we start with MRR Tyre & Retread, Elgi’s largest retreader in Northern Karnataka, which will soon open its seventh plant in Raichur. By opening the plant near Hyderabad, MRR Tyre & Tread will expand its market reach to almost 600 km in Northern Karnataka.
“The Raichur plant is expected to be functional by March 2018. We are looking for the right location for the proposed plant and land acquisition will be finalised soon,” said MLM Prasad of MRR Tyre & Tread.
The company already has six operational plants in Karnataka at Bellary, Hospet, Chitradurga, Gulbarga, Humnabad and Besavakalyan respectively, with a combined production of 1,500 tyres per month. The plants in Bellary, Hospet and Chitradurga are located in the mining belt of Karnataka.
“Our objective is to provide retreading services to fleet owners on a 24/7 basis, and the production of the Raichur plant will, like the other plants, be in the region of 250 tyres each month. We remain focused on maintaining a lean and mean operation with focus on service to the customer,” said Krishna Prasad. Both brothers are regarded as being among the pioneers of precure retreading in Northern Karnataka.
The different MRR plants run on a variety of autoclave configurations ranging from single 2-tyre autoclaves in Chitradurga and Humnabad to the 5-tyre autoclave at Hospet. “Raichur will be
installed with single 3 tyre chamber,” said MLM Prasad.
“We could retread 400 tyres per month, but we are deliberately keeping production within the 250 tyre range as low volumes help us to manage the plant well. We may not be growing vertically but horizontally by reaching out to new areas of Karnataka,” he added. Commenting on the impact of the goods and services tax (GST) that was introduced in India from 1st July on the retreading industr y, Krishna Prasad said, “We are expecting a further consolidation of business, and unorganised retreaders will find themselves in a
spot, and may have to shut down their operations in the Northern Karnataka belt. We hope the market will pick-up steam by the end of 2017.”
The dedicated Elgi franchisee opened its first plant in Humnabad back in 1989, while the latest one
at Chitradurga was opened in 2010. The majority (60 per cent) of MRR’s tyre production is comprised of truck radials, reflecting the growing market for radials and the increasing capability of Indian retreaders to retread radials. The six plants together consume 15 tonnes