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INDIA
Harsha Varadaraj (left) with Shankar Vadivel of Elgi Rubber Company
General Tyres has found that Elgi tread gives 80% of new tyre performance. However, only 4% of tyres come back for retreading from the first to second retread. Therefore, the company feels a proper system to maintain performance is now a necessity.
Elgi says it is also considering allying with a major tyre brand to expand the reach of its fleet management initiative among fleet owners. This, says the company, will also help secure casings for its retread franchisees.
care of all services around tyres and associate with fleet owners in a long-term partnership,” he emphasised.
JK has plans to introduce its fleet management programme in the overseas market also as the company exports to all parts of the world. “For the moment, however, the focus is on the home market as organised fleets are growing in India. Nevertheless, the company lends technical consultancy to fleets in the international market to enhance new and retread tyre life. On the retread side, JK has tie-ups with about 200 sites where it provides quality retreads. “Our teams regularly audit their process and train their workforce as per the requirements of the time and also help units in the standardisation of equipment and processes,” he revealed.
In order to enhance tyre life, mileage and safety, JK introduced a TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System) called TREEL a couple of months ago. This is claimed by the company to be a one of a kind technology-based tool geared
towards smart monitoring and maintenance of tyres.
“Treel sensors are designed, developed and manufactured in our Pune facility and are already in use by fleet owners as part of a countrywide pilot, available commercially at more than 700 dealerships across India,” said Sharma.
An industry-first move to deliver advanced mobility solutions to commercial and passenger vehicle owners, the launch of ‘Treel’ sensors is an outcome of the company’s recent financial acquisition of Treel Mobility Solutions Pvt Ltd, a start- up venture.
The information collected by this system is relayed on a real-time basis to the vehicle owner’s smartphone via Bluetooth on to a mobile application (Android as well as Apple), allowing for early detection of issues and deployment of timely preventive measures to avoid them. Treel Sensors also deliver higher fuel-efficiency, thereby enhancing tyre life and minimising operational expenses, the company said.
JK Tyre Focuses
on Fleet Management
With the number and size of organised fleets surging, tyre producers in India are now foraying into fleet management, offering a plethora of services under one roof from new tyres to retread services and even including training modules with various fleets to provide a single platform for all kinds of tyre care needs.
About 30% of India’s fleets are categorised as “organised” with the majority of large fleets having 100- 200 trucks or more. “The entire growth is in the organised sector of fleets registered in last five years, and the infrastructure side largely
drives growth as the number of tippers, mining trucks etc. has grown substantially,” said Sanjeev Sharma, General Manager, Fleet Management (Truck Bus Radial), JK Tyre & Industries Ltd.
JK Tyre forayed into fleet management in 2014 to address the needs of the organised fleets. “Over some time, the company’s horizons have broadened to take care of the 360-degree requirements of fleets including new tyres, retread tyres, data management, training of manpower etc.,” he explained. Highway service centres have also been set-up spreading over the
countr y.
The tyre producer debuted its IT platform for large fleets called ‘JK Fleet Connect’ about six months ago. “The software was developed to address the needs of large fleets for total tyre management, helping them to analyse cost per km for both new tyres and retreaded tyres including multiple retreads,” said Sharma. JK Fleet Connect is offered to fleets having long-term contract business contract with the tyre company. The service is targeted at big fleets from 200 to 5,000 trucks/buses.
“The objective is to take
Panama Company to Expand in Consumables and Tyre Repair Kits
Exhibitions are mostly judged by the number of exhibitors and visitor footfall. Although the recently concluded Tyrexpo Chennai 2019 was a small show on both counts considering its counterparts elsewhere, a few trade visitors dropped in from far-off countries to engage in business with Indian companies.
What actually brings them to India is interestingly the sheer size of the market as well as the robust manufacturing base in the countr y. Often comparisons are made over the quality of the products manufactured in India and neighbouring China.
“The quality of Indian products and pricing is better than China. We think it is possible to work with Indian companies by forging long term relations,” said Vinod Jethani, Director, PV International based out of Colon Free Zone in Panama. Since its inception in 1997, the company has traded mainly in three segments - automobile, electronics and brokerage & consultancy services. In the automobile segment, Jethani imports tyres, two-wheelers, light commercial vehicles, bulldozers, excavators and industrial
machinery to supply in the Central American market.
“We import new tyres, used tyres and around 2,000 retreaded tyres and casings from South Korea and Japan to supply to Central American clients,” he added. “We are particularly keen on expanding the retreading consumables and repair side. Currently, we are supplying retreaded tyres to various sites and companies are also inquiring about consumables and tyre repair kits.” In the last 6-7 years, the retreading market was severely hit by low- priced Chinese tyres, bringing down the prices of retreaded tyres considerably. “Central America is a price-sensitive market, and it has its own issues with Chinese tyre imports, but Chinese tyres still dominate that market.”
But he believes the retread tyre market on the big fleet side has stabilised in recent years.
On whether it is a profitable business when it comes to new and used tyre imports from the Far East, Jethani added, “It’s a volume-driven business, and we can only make money if we supply more.”
Sanjeev Sharma, General Manager, Fleet Management (Truck Bus Radial), JK Tyre & Industries Ltd
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