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INDIA
Laj Tyres & Treads Targets Fleet Owners with MRF Pretread
Gujarat Retreader Focuses on Service to Improve Volume
Although some parts of India are recovering quickly from the pandemic, in many regions, retreaders are continuing to face the major challenge of operating their units on low output levels. Larger states with formidable industrial bases have recovered fast with the opening of the various industries but the smaller hilly states in the North are still struggling to cope.
MRF Pretreads franchisee Laj
operational in the BBN corridor. The truck sorties sharply dropped post-Covid as factories in the region have yet to operate fully,” said Khushal.
The company says it is now focusing on improving plant output by aggressively marketing to fleet owners.
The site operates on a 5-tyre autoclave, retreading 100 tyres per month. “We used to retread 200 monthly before Covid,” said
Tyres & Treads says it is still struggling to achieve pre-Covid production levels despite being based in the industrial town of Baddi, (in the South-West of the Northern Indian hilly state of Himachal Pradesh).
“We are still operating at half of what we retreaded before Covid,” said Hemant Khushal of Laj Tyres & Treads, this despite the fact thst the Baddi, Barotiwala and Nalagarh (BBN) Industrial Cluster
Khushal, “but we are faced with the challenge of increased competition posed by other retreaders operating in close vicinity with each other. There are about dozen retreaders within a 2 km radius,” he complained.
The retread plant that started operation in 2014 is now considering to further strengthen its relationship with the MRF tyre brand by selling new tyres in order to make the unit a one-stop-
The town of Navsari, about 37 km from Surat in Gujarat, is a small market for a tyre retreading, but Elgi franchisee National Precured Retreader is offering a host of services to fleet owners not offered by other retreaders in the region in an attempt to transform the whole business including the installation of tyre care software. The move, says the company, has improved volumes and made the whole operation sustainable. The Elgi franchisee, operated by father-son duo Sazidbhai and Mikail, retreads about 4,800 tyres annually and covers an 90 km area between Navsari and Vapi. “Although, we are not collecting tyres from the market, still customers prefer to get their tyres retreaded by us by dropping off and picking their tyres themselves. The uniqueness lies in providing services like arranging new tyres for fleet owners and stocking their tyres at our premises. The strategy of not charging for tyre repairs also attracts them to retread with us,” informed Mikail. The services are offered to regular customers, and that is helping maintain a certain level of volume for the business. The site has also installed tyre care software, which records the details of each tyre that enters the retreading unit, new tyre fitments, date of fitment, first repair, first retread etc. The move has helped the retreading company to streamline the whole operation of maintaining the tyres of various fleet owners.
The firm re-invented itself during the Covid phase when it was difficult to operate and maintains a certain level of sustainable
volume in the business. “We introduced these services during 2020 and they have helped improve our production levels and increase our margins,” said Sazidbhai. “We believe this is a great achievement in such a highly competitive environment,” he added.
National Precured Retreader has developed a loyal customer base in Mumbai, Gandhidham and Mehsana, retreading 400 truck tyres per month competing with 20 other retreaders spreads from Navsari to Vapi. The plant also retreads tractor tyres by the traditional hot process producing about 150 tyres annually.
The company says it intends to start a new retread plant in Mumbai but the prolonged Covid- induced lockdown leading to slowdown in the retreading sector has forced them to put the plan on hold for the time being. “We will take a decision on it once the market stabilises,” said Mikail. Meanwhile there is also a plan to shift the plant onto solar energy as the Gujarat government offers incentives to companies that operates on solar energy. “We have assessed the estimated investment in the solar shift, and the whole investment would be earned back in next four-year period that will further improve profitability levels,” he claimed. The Elgi franchisee has been in the business of retreading for the last seven decades but joined the Elgi franchisee network in 1991. Before joining Elgi, the plant offered retreading by the hot process only but from 1991 onwards shifted to precure.
of Himachal Pradesh has been formed to encourage a planned and systematic Urban & Regional Industrial & Rural growth in a comprehensive manner in the region. “It is estimated that around 11,000 trucks are
shop for new tyres as well as retreading. “We have already shown our willingness to sell MRF branded new tyres and are awaiting a decision from the company,” he said.
42 Retreading Business