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MARANGONI FRANCHISEES VISIT CEAT HALOL SITE The strategic alliance between Marangoni South Asia (MASA) and CEAT is making significant progress in providing comprehensive tyre solutions—new tyres, retreads, and tyre services— to commercial fleets across India. A notable partner initiative was organising a visit for MASA Franchisees to CEAT’s production facility in Halol, Gujarat. This facility is renowned for producing CEAT’s commercial vehicle (CV) range, particularly in the rapidly expanding truck and bus radial (TBR) segment. The purpose of the visit was to acquaint the Franchisees with CEAT’s TBR products, their technology, manufacturing processes, and testing protocols. MASA aimed to en- hance its Franchisees’ ability to better ser- vice fleets and offer more effective advice on maximising the benefits of retreads. For CEAT, the goal was to bolster the franchi- sees’ confidence in its technology and offe- rings. During their visit, the franchisees observed CEAT’s advanced manufacturing techni- ques, state-of-the-art testing laboratories, and innovative tyre design methods, which are distinct in the industry. Reflecting on the visit, Asheesh Wadhwa, Managing Director of A-One Tyres in Na- gpur and a Marangoni Franchisee since 2020, expressed his admiration for CEAT’s technology and high-quality tyre casings. Idrees Ismail and P. Mahendran from Xtrami- les, Chennai, shared that the experience had reinforced their confidence in CEAT’s pro- ducts, encouraging them to sell and actively recommend CEAT tyres to their customers. Vagish Arya, CEO of Road Buddy Tyres, representing the upcoming Franchisee Co-Trucking in NCR, highlighted the positive feedback from fleets using CEAT TBR, noting the favourable cost per kilometre (CPK) per- formance. Balaji Amrutwar of Sai Retread Tyres in Nanded, Maharashtra, mentioned that the visit instilled confidence in them to source CEAT casings actively for retreading with Marangoni’s RINGTREAD technology. Arun Raj and Jithil Mohan from Autobahn Retreading in Kochi, MASA’s first franchisee in India, said the visit would enhance their collaboration with CEAT’s Kerala team in serving customers. Hemant Kaul, CEO of MASA, emphasised the visit’s role in showcasing the alliance’s trust and partnership. The sharing of manu- facturing insights by CEAT’s Halol team was seen as a step towards achieving a leading position in the industry for providing total tyre solutions to Indian fleets. Pano Konstantinidis, representing Leader Rubber Company from South Africa and a 50% shareholder in MASA, was impressed by the CEAT team’s capability and passion. Rupesh Pillai, MASA’s National Business Development Manager, noted that the Fran- chisees returned from Halol with a profound understanding of the value they add by re- treading CEAT tyres, engineered for the dis- cerning needs of Indian fleets. COUNTRY REPORT - INDIA P.49