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INDIA
continue to pour in, and soon more consignments are expected to be dispatched to other countries in the region.”
Midas has also commenced production and sales of O-Rings for OTR tyres for rim sizes ranging from 20” to 51”. O- Rings are made with a high- quality natural rubber compound designed to reduce air leakage and increase life. The product is again targeted at the overseas market.
The company’s range of O-Rings made its debut last year and has been exported to Europe and the Middle East. “Response from the international market is good,”
said Varughese, “but this is a niche product and has a small market. O-Rings are so far supplied by the OEMs but we are paying attention to the demands of our customer base.” Midas is also expanding its product range for export markets where it already supplies envelopes, inner-envelopes and curing bags. “These are all niche products and not supplied in huge volumes,” said Varughese. Meanwhile, Midas’ new ARCUS precured compound for truck and bus radials is being promoted as having double the tread life compared with previous products and has
Paulose Varughese, Director, Midas Tread
proved an at-least 8.5% increase in fuel savings after extensive and rigorous lab and long-haul testing. The company says the
tread liner is getting popular among its European clientele. The high-mileage compound has been engineered to offer better
rolling resistance and wear.
The company has also introduced a Winter Tread M20 for the agricultural sector. The tread, which Midas claims is its most popular winter tread, is now being used in greater numbers on agricultural tyres for winter usage on sizes 405/70R20, 385/65R22.5 and 385/55R22.5.
Currently, Midas is producing 2,000 -2,500 tons of tread liner each month depending on demand, with 10% of the total production shipped to various overseas markets.
Midas Distributor Sales Driven by Quality
Indian tread makers market their retread rubber through retread factories and distributors, which are allocated with certain market territories to operate. Midas doesn’t follow the franchisee model but maintains long association with key retreaders and distributors spread all over the country.
The Midas brand carries a certain level of loyalty, and its product range drives distributors sales on the strength of quality. Its retreaders and distributors maintain almost two decades of relationship, reflecting their strong faith in product quality and brand recall value in the market.
In Delhi’s transport hub Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar, Sri