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INDIA
sophisticated, highly automated machinery with CNC controls etc. That kind of sophistication is not required in India as manpower is cheap, and most of the retread industr y is controlled by the small- scale sector, which is not cash-rich enough to make huge investments in plant machiner y,” commented S Shankar Vadivel, Elgi.
Elgi continues to upgrade its precure machinery, offering equipment ranging from machines for price-sensitive smaller operations to the company’s premium range for high volume operations. “We offer best of both in the Indian market,” said Shankar. The price difference between the low end and premium equipment is more than 60%.
Commenting on Indian equipment and comparing it with imported machinery, where price plays a major role, Karun Sanghi of Tyresoles said, “A small retreading facility with a single 11-tyre chamber and inflated buffing/building would cost around INR 5 million, whereas, the same capacity on foreign equipment could cost up to INR 20 million. The finished tyre would have comparable quality but how additional investment could be justified is again a challenge in the price conscious Indian market.”
Low quality retreads on the way out
Rising vehicle speeds are forcing retreaders to invest in plant equipment and many are of the opinion that low-quality retreads may not survive for long, posing a major challenge for the unorganised sector. “Previously vehicle speeds were very slow and low-quality retreads survived but now the scenario is changing and poorer quality retreaders need to improve,” thinks Paulose Varughese of Midas Tread.
However, locally produced tread rubber and equipment continues to hold ground and provides stiff competition to the international brands entering the Indian market.
Elgi drives on technology
Elgi pioneered retreading in India and, in the meantime, has introduced its franchisee network throughout the Asian and African markets. The company keep on evolving with changing times, and has acquired a number of technology driven European, Australian and US based firms and is now bringing products from its global range to the Indian market. With the Indian tyre market driving towards radialisation, the technology acquired from
international acquisitions would be widely applied in the Indian retread industr y, also further pushing the quality standards. Elgi sells
products under brand names like Jet (tyre retread and repair systems), Pincott (rasp blades, hubs and spacers), Carbrasive (brazed carbide tools), Midwest Rubber (gums, adhesives and sealants) and Ecorr (reclaimed rubber).
“Elgi believes the quality of retreading equipment varies from manufacturer to manufacturer but agreed world class equipment is now manufactured and available in India,” said S Shankar Vadivel.
The Coimbatore headquartered firm has subsidiaries on a global basis and remains fully focused on maintaining the quality of its product range. “Our entire strategy is focused on radial tyres and products capable of meeting the needs of a radialised market,” he stressed.
Equipment makers customize their ranges
Offering quality product at the right cost is among the major challenges for the industr y. Equipment producers like Glisten design products as per global standards at a highly competitive cost structure to meet customer aspirations.
“Our range is not merely designed to meet customer aspirations but also to retread tyre for years to come, even for the next-generation tyre sizes,” pointed out Sushil Sarcar of Glisten. Now customers are increasingly conscious of their investment in equipment factoring quality, and value user-friendly operation along with after-sale service,” he added.
Glisten associates with professional independent retreaders, tread manufacturers and tyre producers and is now planning to tap the unorganised market by introducing an economy line of equipment for the price sensitive market.
The Indian market needs to adopt the right approach
Indian customers’ approach towards technology is still ver y primitive despite the opening up of the online world. “It is still difficult to value the technology by pricing alone because Indian customers view machiner y as steel rather than on the basis of technology,” said Rajendran, Director, Rajmahaal Tyre Equipment.
Rapid radialisation owes its success to the entry of global tyre brands like Michelin, Bridgestone etc., and tread rubber producers have been forced to improve their product quality. The market still lacks proper tyre maintenance standards regarded as important for the growth of retreading industry and
price remains a major factor in deciding the product.
“Increasing competition leading to price wars leave little room for introducing technology, which is also the major reason why global brands fails to make major headway in the domestic market,” he added. Rajmahaal claims to be the first equipment maker to introduce a nail hole detector in the domestic market besides H frame buffing machines, high-end curing technology etc. Although India is a price-sensitive market, the Coimbatore based firm is constantly introducing technology to its domestic customers by bringing a global range from companies like Matteuzzi, MAE, B&J for distribution in the domestic market.
India offers wide range of equipment in every price range
Chhattisgarh based Ar yan Machiner y believes that Indian equipment, rubber and accessories are reasonably good considering the price and wide range available in India. “Quality retread products are offered at highly competitive prices in India that are available hardly anywhere else in the world,” said Sanju Pillai of Ar yan Machiner y. Converting to electric and compact machines with focus on evolving radial segment are the key to the future, he believes.
Access to better
technology, he thinks, will
improve product quality but the increasing number of amateurs is a major threat to the industr y. “Competition with professionals is always a healthy challenge, but amateurs are game spoilers,” he believes.
Increasing automation with minimal human interference
Many believe that the future of the industry lies in increasing automation with minimal human interference. “We hope to see automated machiner y in the near future at costs that are at par with those being produced now with intuitive software controls that involved minimum human interference except at times of exceptions raised,” believes George Mathew, Director, General Tyres, who operates multiple retread plants in the Chennai area.
General Tyres has implemented a fully-fledged tyre retreating ERP system designed and developed in- house, which throws up alerts (SMS
and alarms) if for instance the drying time exceeds its set limit. The same checks and balances take place at every stage of the retreading process.
Machinery available in India market is made with good insight and latest technology, but the companies involved still operate with considerable manpower. “But if small adaptations are made to adapt the machines with software, we do see better quality control parameters that can be adopted on the factory floor. For example, it won’t take much for a buffing machine to automatically adjust its buffing radius as per the make and brand of a tyre and as per manufacturers recommendations,” he pointed out. India has well engineered retreading equipment available but most
George Mathew, Director, General Tyres
companies invest heavily on their capital equipment and find it difficult changing them once purchased. “Upgrades are available but the cost of doing any upgrade is high, and we find that not many companies are willing to concentrate on upgrading existing machiner y,” said Mathew. Meanwhile, Mumbai headquartered Tyresoles agrees that good retread equipment is produced in India but admits that the level of automation may not be comparable with European/US machines. However, the quality of retreading using Indian machines is reasonably good.
Retread quality improves with entry of global players
Meanwhile, the quality of retread equipment is improving due to the presence of international retread majors joining hands with domestic players in India. Major international retread brands such as Marangoni have not brought their own equipment ranges to India,
16 Retreading Business