Page 63 - RB-98-2021-3

INDIA
Mark Rubber to Foray into Patch Manufacturing
looking at making a foray in the African market, which is controlled by the Indian tread brands. “We are in touch with a company in Ghana, which is showing interest in sourcing tread from
us to promote in
other African
markets,” he
revealed. “Once the
market conditions
improve, Africa is
surely a market to
be exploited.”
With conventional
tread largely used
to retread
agriculture tyres in
India, Mark Tread is
also anticipating growth in the conventional tread offtake with solid domestic sales reported in the country’s tractor segment. “Once the market
stabilises, demand
in the agri-market
will eventually
push conventional
tread sales,” he
said. Demand for
conventional tread
is cyclic in nature
and improves in
the May to
November period.
The financial year
’21 was tough
during the first 2 months as sales dropped by 80% in April due to the nationwide lockdown but the post- lockdown phase has seen a gradual demand recovery in all vehicle segments, with tractor sales, which depend on a strong rural economy, remaining robust. Overall yearly tractor sales recorded an increase of
26.86% during the Apr’20 - Mar’21 fiscal year.
However, Mark Rubber is currently worried about the new Delta variant of the Covid, which recently entered
Kerala based tread rubber producer Mark Rubber has announced that it is planning a foray into the production of patches in 2022. “We are considering getting-into patch making from early next year if the market conditions stabilise. We are planning to introduce patches for tubeless tyres as this is still an
‘Mark Tread’ brand.
“Our production capacity for conventional rubber is 200 tons per month but since the pandemic, business has been down, and production comes to around 50 tons on an average. Business used to be good between 2000 and 2010, and this led us to expand
capacity and expand into precure treads,” he explained. On asking about future prospects, Ahmed seems quite optimistic about the market, “Due to two back-to- back lockdowns, smaller unorganised operations couldn’t sustain
and were forced to shut down their production. It is an advantage for the organised sector as lockdowns badly hit the unorganised sector, which cater to about 40% of the market.” Once the market conditions stabilises and volumes pick up with increased fleet movement, the offtake at the organised sector is expected to drastically improve, considering the shrinking unorganised sectors. Meanwhile, the tread maker is also exploring export opportunities and
into the country and is concerned that it might force another lockdown. “Currently, the focus is more on sustaining the market
Shafi Ahmed, Managing Director, Mark Rubber
area where only a few companies operate and which is full of growth potential,” said Shafi Ahmed, Managing Director, Mark Treads. The Kochi based company commenced manufacturing conventional treads in 1989 and expanded into precure treads almost a decade later in 1998. The conventional rubber is manufactured at Mark Rubber Products and precure tread by group arm Mark Polymers, and both treads are sold under the
against the disruptions caused by prolonged lockdown. Once the industry is out of this uncertain phase, the growth will eventually come back in the sector,” said Ahmed.
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