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INDIA
preferring to source the plant machinery from the local supplier base.
At the same time, new tyre manufacturers are also sourcing retread equipment as per their own specifications from the domestic vendor base. Tyre brands carving out their own franchisee networks
Recamic process into India. Michelin certified 13 TVS Tread plants out of 20, where TVS also retreads non-Michelin branded tyres.
The objective, says both parties, is to bring quality retread solutions for the truck & bus customers in India, besides, working together towards
Marangoni GRP Private Limited (MGPL) has also opt for a franchisee operation in India and signed first Ringtread Franchisee at Vijaypur, Karnataka. The franchisee kickstarted operation in 2017 and covers five Karnataka districts – Vijaypur, Dharwad, Belgaum, Gulbarga and Bagalkot.
Dino Maggioni– Group CEO, Marangoni said, “Post testing our ‘concept’ at the Pilot Shop over the last 12 months at Indore, we are now ready to expand our Franchise footprint pan India. Feedback from fleets at Indore has been extremely encouraging and has helped establish Ringtread as the clear technology leader. We are hopeful that the rapidly expanding highway network, the pace of radialisation and continuing economic reforms will have a positive effect on the
machiner y is good for markets with cheap labor,” thinks Paulose Varughese of Midas.
Prominent patch maker Unipatch feels that Indian equipment manufacturers make good quality equipment, but lack sophistication compared to their global counterparts in Europe or US. “Competitive pricing and reasonably good quality compared to Europe and US counterparts are responsible for market access in the African and Asian markets,” feels Kunal Chaudhr y, GM, Unipatch Rubber Limited.
When asked if Indian firms are investing in improving product quality, Kunal agreed, “Yes quality is improving and we are also investing in R&D to improve service life and the mileage of the tread rubber.”
On greater acceptance of Indian
or concept stores in India are forcing the local equipment suppliers to push their limits and improve the quality of their equipment.
Some of the leading international tyre equipment suppliers are also opening representative offices in India. They have been supplying tyre producing machiner y to the Indian tyre companies and most them are also producing retread
the advancement of the retreading sector in the Indian commercial vehicle segment.
Michelin is expected to leverage its partnership with TVS to help grow the retread industry and also to expand its own footprint in India. Another significant entr y in the sector is that of the Italian firm Marangoni. Mumbai headquartered Gujarat Reclaim & Rubber Products Ltd (GRP) has formed a retread JV
of
machiner y. These firms are keen pushing their retread equipment India but their high prices have so far pushed their plans onto the backfoot, providing an advantage for the Indian equipment suppliers to expand their base in the growing retread sector.
An example of the strategic alliances being forged between tyre majors and prominent local players is the alliance between TVS Tread and Michelin for the introduction of the
with Marangoni to target the commercial vehicle segment. The venture is focusing on centers with a high penetration of radialisation. The JV opened first flagship store at Indore, regarded as a large trucking centre in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, where the level of radialisation is more than 50%, above the national average of 36%. The two companies are now looking at a hub-and-spoke model for maximum coverage.
Indian Logistics sector improving the health of trucking fleets. Marangoni GRP hopes to play a leading role in helping the latter lower their tyre costs through its unique retreading solutions.”
The Indo-Italian venture also sources customised plant equipment produced in India by a local vendor.
Indian retread equipment popular in developing markets
The growing presence of Indian retread equipment in the developing markets of South East Asia, Middle East and Africa is mainly due to its user-friendly operation. “Our equipment is user friendly, easily serviceable and accepted by the local operators for its cost and ease of operation when compared to European equipment. Secondly, the retread shops are not high in production and do not need very sophisticated machines,” said Sushil Sarcar of Glisten Equipment. Reasonable pricing and compatible quality also attracts overseas buyers towards Indian machiner y. “Indian equipment and material has the advantage of being economical and good quality besides less automated
equipment and tread rubber in the low-priced markets, Sanju Pillai of Ar yan Machiner y said, “India has created a brand value in these locations and we have the ability to offer quality products at best price leading to the acceptance our products.”
Indian retread and equipment suppliers continue to push their range in the markets of the Middle East, South East Asia and Africa. “India does have some advantages in terms of lower labour costs, possibly lower input costs too that give them an edge over imports. Imported equipment are thus much more expensive and do not make commercial sense for Indian customers given the price sensitive nature of the market,” thinks S Shankar Vadivel of Elgi Rubber Company.
Moreover, the lower cost equipment from India probably make more sense for the smaller sized retreading plants in these markets which process fewer tyres and, hence, require a lower capital investment for achieving a reasonable ROI (return on investment).
18 Retreading Business
on in