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INDIA
growth in the retreading sector, Yadav commented; “Surging radialisation as well as the truck market introducing multi-axle trucks is driving demand for retreading services.”
Currently, the plant covers a 50 km radius, but with new site the
become non-profitable ventures due to low volumes.”
Currently, the Ahmedabad plant consumes 65 tons of Elgi tread annually, but with the new plant coming early next year, the consumption will likely grow to 120 tons yearly on the back of the
The size of the plant indicates that there is enough space for future expansion. The hot operation would be started with the installation of a solitary electric chamber that will retread 1000-2000 tyres annually. “We mainly planning to retread tractor tyre sizes 13.6/28, 14.9/28,16.9/28, tyre sizes in crane applications i.e 13.00/24 & 14.00/24 and JCB size of 14.00/25, said Nikam.”
500 tyres each month. The rest all are small units retreading around 100 tyres per month.
“Our focus is on serving the retread market of Kolhapur and fleets visiting the city from the Konkan region,” he added. Moreover, with changing market dynamics post Covid, the market is converting to cash business. “With surging tyre and diesel prices in the domestic market, retreading is now needed by the
size of the market coverage will also be doubled in order to bring volume to the plant. The owners are also planning to add two more LCVs to cover an area of 100 km in order to bring casings to the plant.
According to Yadav, “In the future low volume plants that retread from 150 to up to 500 tyres per month may not be able to sustain their position in the market. Increasing raw material prices are forcing smaller operations to shut down, as they are increasingly
new plant and hiked capacity. The retreader is content with its long two-decade long association with the Coimbatore based tread maker. Yadav stressed, “We have never experienced any issue/complaint either with Elgi rubber quality as well as service from the market, as the company has a robust supply chain. Although the tread is expensive compared to other brands, the product is always received well by the market.”
The new precure site is installed with a monorail system, twin 4 & 2 tyre autoclaves, buffer, builder and compressor to retread LCV tyres and commercial vehicle casings. “We are targeting to achieve on average a monthly production of 600 – 1000 retreads each month by the end of the first quarter of 2022,” Nikam stated.
Kolhapur is an important industr y city known for hand-crafted leather slippers and is home to 300 foundries. The industrial city also caters to the whole Konkan region as fleet owners from the region visit Kolhapur for the maintenance of their vehicles.
On the size of the retreading industry in the industrial city, Nikam added, “Kolhapur has about 20 retreaders, but only two are big players retreading about
market. We strongly believe the changed market dynamics favour tyre retreading, as investment in new tyres further adds to the burden on fleet-owners,” said Nikam. “Retreading is now considered as an opportunity and not a challenge. A bigger site with latest machinery would definitely meet growing market demand.” Amit Nikam used to deal in retreaded casings and is well- versed with the dynamics of operating a retreading operation successfully. On the reasons of opting for Elgi Nikam commented; “We have to associate with a brand, and Elgi has a proven track record in the retreading industr y. There is lot of brand recall value, moreover, cooperation extended by Elgi pushes us to forge a long-term relationship with them.”
Amit Nikam, Managing Director, Jagdamba Treads
Jagdamba Treads Opens as Elgi franchisee in Kolhapur
Despite the challenging market scenario, new retreading sites with ambitious growth plans continue to open up across India. Typical of this is Jagdamba Treads who have opened a new retread site as part of Elgi franchisee platform in Kolhapur (in Southern part of Maharashtra) in the month of August, located strategically on the Pune-Bengaluru highway.
Spread over a land parcel of 17,000 sq ft with 4,200 sq ft of built-up factory space, the plant size is fairly large considering the average size of Indian retreading sites. “We have plans to further expand into conventional hot retreading by the last quarter of 2022,” informed Amit Nikam, Managing Director, Jagdamba Treads.
38 Retreading Business