KKTC’s role in establishing the Chinese brand in India
Fuwa, the largest global semi-trailer special parts and components manufacturer, made its first presence at Auto Expo this year, along with KKTC, its exclusive distributor in India. Offering the complete range of components for trailers, including semi-trailer axles, landing gears, suspensions, fifth-wheels and kingpins, the Chinese giant started manufacturing in 2010 heavy-duty truck axle products such as front steer axles, single reduction and hub reduction rear drive axles.
With over 150,000 trailer axles on Indian roads, Fuwa is now taking the next big step by targeting the Indian OEMs for drive axles. Mr. Scott Tan, International Sales Manager, Fuwa, said: “We are introducing our new drive axle to Indian truck OEMs. We have invested more than $1 billion in our new facility in China in the last four years in order to produce the best quality drive axles and front steer axles for trucks. For the last two to three years, we have been working with many global customers and submitted our samples, and today we are very successful. We want to now work with the Indian OEMs for drive axles”.
Fuwa axles boast of impressive quality, without the need for hub-greasing for 150,000 km. The company has supplied its hub-reduction drive axles, front steer axles and fifth wheels to leading global vehicle manufacturers. The products have passed all tests and have been certified by customers.
The company’s technical know-how gives them the ability to move ahead with better quality products. Fuwa front steer axles are different from the traditional 14-pin ones. Its axle pins are one-piece and hollow and have been patented. Another important USP of the company is its low developing cost. It uses its experience and expertise to develop drive axles in quick time which has proved to be a key factor for success.
The OEMs have responded positively to Fuwa products, thanks to the two main attractive characteristics – outstanding performance and quality at low cost. Fuwa drive axles cost at least 10-15 per cent lower than other products in the market.
Commenting on how the balance between cost and quality is kept intact, Mr. Tan said: “The most important thing is the fact that Fuwa is a fully-integrated company. We have three foundries to produce hub and drum, and most of the components are manufactured in-house, including the brake-linings, brake-shoes, cam shafts, axle pins and machine gears. The entire manufacturing, including heat treatment, is done in-house. It is easy for us to control the quality, delivery and cost. And, if good quality products are available at lower cost, OEMs would definitely consider it.”
Fuwa has a huge production capacity of 1.4 million trailer axles per annum. It has warehouses in Singapore, Australia and the US. Currently, drive axles are supplied from China. Mr. Tan is optimistic that with the rate of growth in the Indian market, a local manufacturing facility is quite possible.
The face of Fuwa in India, KKTC, deals exclusively with Fuwa products. KKTC attributes the success of the products to Fuwa’s quality, while it provides after-sales service and stocks across the country. KKTC has 13 branches all over India, spread over strategic locations of the trailer industry, including Ludhiana, Ajmer, Rohtak, Bombay, Baroda, Namakkal, Vijayawada, Raipur, Jamshedpur and Kolkata.
The outlets are strategically located along the eastern and western highways at an average interval of 600 km, to cater to the needs of the highway transport segment. The company also has mobile workshops with 24×7 support to provide service-on-demand to its customers.
Mr. Suresh Kumar Arora, KKTC Managing Partner, said: “KKTC is in the trailer industry since 1985, mainly in niche areas like LPG transportation. We are experts in trailer design and offer complete solution for trailer manufacturing including fifth-wheel, landing legs, kingpins, trailer axles and suspensions. Our main strength has been our customer relationship coupled with product quality.”
From just Rs. 48 lakhs in 2005, KKTC turnover is now estimated at Rs. 100 crores. The company is currently selling close to 30,000 axles annually with a 35 per cent market share in the trailer industry. In 2011, the company sold around 40,000 axles, and is now confident of crossing the 50,000-axle mark with a targeted turnover of 120 crores in the current year.
