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INDIA
CRI Rubbers Establish Expanded Presence
in the US Market
Despite the slowdown in the international market, Indian tread makers continue to expand their footprints globally by supplying customised products in order to serve existing clientele in the high-end North American market.
AN example of this is CRI
established a warehousing facility in Boston, Massachusetts. “We are ideally located in Boston to cater to the markets of Canada, North and South America,” informed Aby Jacob, Managing Director, CRI Rubbers India.
“Americans are highly quality- conscious. The
US is a tough market in which to operate when it comes to selling tread rubber. We have established a presence by maintaining consistent quality standards and an on-time supply schedule,” claimed Jacob. The Boston warehouse holds 3-4 containers of premium tread rubber to serve the retail market. Direct containers can also be shipped from the company’s plant
in Kottayam, India to retread customers in the USA, Canada and South America.
“Tread rubber is moving fast in the US market at the moment due to import curbs on Chinese tyres,” said Jacob. “Our Indian production site supplies almost 40 containers to the North
American market annually.” CRI Rubbers has also appointed a network of agents in order to optimise product penetration and assure the wider reach of its range.
CRI Rubbers has also announced that its tread rubber
markets of Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile and Peru.
CRI has also been scouting for customers in the African market from quite some time and says it is likely to commence shipments to one of the major Indian tread consuming markets
Aby Jacob, Managing Director CRI Rubbers with overseas clients Hassaim Hamadan (left) and Virendra Nath (right)
Rubbers, a diversified company from Kottayam in the South Indian state of Kerala, which has been able to establish a strong foothold in North America since entering the US market in 2005.
To develop its presence in the region, the company has
range has been approved by the Department of Transportation (DOT) in the USA. On average CRI treads are claimed to offer mileage of 180,000 miles.
The company says its tread rubber plant in Kottayam operates on highly sophisticated machines to maintain the standard of final product. “We are the only company in the state of Kerala making 36 feet length rolls in a single unit,” claimed Aby Jacob. “We are shipping the same rolls to the US market.”
Opening More Overseas Markets in 2020
In addition to the USA, the Boston site also serves Canada and the South American
in the next few months. “Africa remains one of the most favoured export markets for Indian tread rubber manufacturers, and with the Indian diaspora well-entrenched in the retreading sector, it is comparatively easy to forge business relations in that market,” he explained.
India Expansion Plans
CRI’s Kottayam based production site has an installed capacity of 400 MT of tread rubber per month but is currently operating below capacity, producing only about 250 MT due to the overall slowdown. With the increasing focus on the overseas market, the company exports around
40 Retreading Business