Spe cia l - Pneusnews

16
The Treadsdirect facility in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu state, manufactures precure treads for
the European market
Treadsdirect ist in Coimbatore im südindischen Bundesstaat Tamil Nadu niedergelassen und
fertigt dort Laufstreifen auch für den europäischen Markt
cured treads for over 25 years. After the reorganisation, the precured
treads are now sold under the “Kooltread” brand name – a name
new to Europe but already known in the southern Indian market, as
twelve company owned retreading units operated under the Kooltread
Ltd. name. Kooltread precure treads are available for the retreading
tyres of commercial vehicles, light commercial vehicles and
passenger cars. Customers in Europe and the USA are also familiar
with the name ‘Treadsdirect’, which was the brand name for the
company’s treads before the change. This brand will now be marketed
globally.
As implied by Mr. Ashokanand above, the reorganisation of the
firm’s administrative functions and production structure occurred
without any major complications. “Initially there were a lot of loose
ends to be sorted out internally,” he comments. “But the whole transition
was well planned and executed smoothly without many problems.
The manufacturing factories and marketing divisions were always
separate entities and the whole organisational structure also
fell into place suitably,” adds Ashokanand.
As a result of this, customers do not need to build up relationships
with brand new contact people. As Mr. Ashokanand says:
“As far as the customers are concerned, they continued to deal with
the same people as before and did not have much trouble with the
changeover.”
Previously Elgitread, now Treadsdirect Ltd., operated seven
facilities that were engaged in the production of treads to be used in
precure retreading. Three of these plants are based in India, and
another three are located in Brazil, Kenya and Sri Lanka. The
seventh facility, which operated on the island of Mauritius, recently
closed. The Treadsdirect president points out, however, that this
closure had nothing to do with the reorganisation; customs regulations
in the island state were altered not so long ago, making sup-
plying the local market from India once again a viable option. The
factories in Brazil, Kenya and Sri Lanka supply their local markets,
while precure treads destined for European export markets are all
sourced, “for the time being”, from the facilities in India. The product
range produced at the six factories still in operation is tailored
to accommodate various local requirements.
With regard to the European market, Treadsdirect is taking a
similar approach as it previously took with the United States.
“Europe takes its cues from the US market in that it prefers lower
cost materials that compromise on quality and performance,” reflects
Ashokanand. “A hoard of cheap materials have stormed the
market and it will take a while for customers to understand the
impact of these low quality materials.” Treadsdirect is distancing
itself from such suppliers: “We are not willing to reduce prices by
compromising on quality,” the company president adds.
The Treadsdirect factories employ state-of-the-art production
equipment and the company makes use of sophisticated testing
facilities. “We have the capability and experience to decipher
the compound formulation from a small piece of cured rubber,”
comments the president when speaking on the company’s
technical abilities. “But unfortunately, in spite of our high performance
standards, we have been thought of as ‘budget segment’
supplier because of the price advantage retreaders gain with our
treads. I hope that this image changes and we get the recognition
that befits our quality and performance.”
arno.borchers@reifenpresse.de/sg