Jagdamba Trailers is quickly establishing itself as a major player in the Indian tip trailer industry by pursuing excellence via the creation of distinctive value for operators. The company’s deliberate attempts to be customer-centric rather than price-centric is what is creating the unique value proposition, finds out Rajesh Rajgor in this exclusive interview with Director Gyan Singh Kshatriya
Founded in 2019 by industrialists Amit, Rupesh and Umang Agrawal in Raigarh, a city in Chattisgarh, Jagdamba Trailers is devoted to delivering outstanding services to the trailer operators in a region heavily dominated by coal reserves, power and steel generation. “The company is born out of the vision to assure total customer satisfaction through manufacturing durable trailer products that last longer and save in maintenance cost and breakdown time for the operators. The focus on the needs of the consumer gives our products an advantage over competitors’ products,” informs Gyan Singh Kshatriya, Director, Jagdamba Trailers (P) Limited.
“We don’t approach a customer with a fixed price range or with the lowest price range. Instead, we demonstrate to them our capacity to adequately meet their needs before moving the transaction forward, based on our engineering know-how and application understanding,” he adds. As Jagdamba Trailers first analyses the customer’s needs and then works with them to provide well-designed, customer-centric trailers to meet their applications at the most reasonable price, they have been successful in the market and are receiving a good number of orders from customers. “As part of our commitment to providing branded aggregates in our trailers, we make sure that the axles, suspension, brake systems, ABS, tyres, wheel rims and steel are acquired from reliable suppliers,” Gyan Singh informs.
“Our team employs unique steel to reduce the weight of the trailer and increase overall strength, which helps fleet operators make more money by getting additional payloads and results in less wear and strain on the aggregates like tyres, leaf springs and bearings,” he adds. The company’s attention to detail and focus on quality is such that the trailer is made with the life of a prime mover and the worth of the vehicle in mind. “We do extend onsite warranties and the body warranty for a year. We also start preventative maintenance every six months,” he states.
Horses for Courses
Every three months, in an endeavor to continual improvements Jagdamba Trailers introduces new product designs with the intention of giving customers a wonderful product experience and meeting their needs. “We manufacture for clients and our goal is to use cutting-edge designs to enable the customer to increase revenues. Anjan Shrivstava, our head of research and development, makes sure to develop 10-15 product designs and versions each quarter. We use premium steel that satisfies the operator’s spending limit and the application requirements to guarantee that the customer receives the best product possible. No matter the material, whether Tata Steel HS 800, HS 600, BSK 46, imported Strenx or Domex and NPB, we never skimp on the quality that has been promised and is necessary for the application,” says Gyan Singh.
The company has benefited from the concept of developing the Jagdamba Trailers brand in a customer-centric manner. In such a short period of time, the fledgling manufacturer has sold more than 2,000 trailers not only in Chattisgarh but also in Odisha, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and other states. “Our monthly production capacity is around 250 units and at present we are operating between 150-175 trailers per month,” Gyan Singh says. The company has made an investment in CNC bending and cutting machine, which can bend objects up to 12 metres long without joints, to ensure absolute control over product quality. With the help of their CNC cutting equipment, they can cut sheets up to 9 metres in length. They also take pride in having a one-of-its-kind shot blast booth, which can cover 360 degrees.
They produce chassis with precision using jigs and fixtures. They have also made investments in the precise inverter MIG welding technique for steel using argoshield gas. “Our production procedures are so exact that it would only take us three weeks to execute 50-100 tip trailers orders. Once the order is placed, the raw material is cut the same day the design is accepted and the work is commissioned, after which it is converted into SKDs, body cubed and mounted on chassis. It then undergoes a quick blasting process before being transported to the primer booth. The body can be ready in just 4-5 working days,” explains Gyan Singh.
Expanding Product Range and Reach
Without a shadow of a doubt, Jagdamba Trailers has established itself and left its mark in Central India and North India with its exceptional products while it has also started to broaden its scope and product offering in response to growing demand and popularity. They have fleet operators across India paying attention to their side wall, flat bed and tippers in segments including fly ash, iron ore and over-burden applications, even though they have a strong relationship and business with fleet operators working in coal mines of SECL, WCL, NCL and MCL.
According to Gyan Singh, Jagdamba Trailers has around 80% market share in the coal segment in West Odisha, more than 50% market share in Maharashtra, and around 25–30% market share in other parts in the tip trailers market which also includes aggregate transport in areas like Jhansi, Kanpur and Ayodhya. The company now plans to expand into South India and increase its focus on Rajasthan and the Delhi-NCR region, basking in the confidence it has garnered over the past three years. “We are considering establishing a couple of subsidiary plants in order to expand in the Delhi-NCR, Gujarat, Rajasthan and South India markets,” he adds.
“The overall goal is to increase production to 600 trailers per month during the next two to three years and serve a wider customer base. Being leaders in tip trailers manufacturing, we are also boosting up the manufacturing of side wall, flat bed, semi low bed and skeletal trailers to achieve the number goal. Sandeep Singh, our head of production, is making sure that production acceleration and targets are met smoothly to get utter customer satisfaction with timely deliveries,” he informs. Currently, Jagdamba Trailers has an expert team of engineers and marketers. Gyan Singh, however, thinks that the key strategic account run by their head of marketing Aftab Alam is what’s driving the company’s expansion and tremendous sales growth.
Even in terms of quality, Saurabh Banerjee, their head of quality, is making a significant difference. “We can tailor dynamic and static analyses to produce a product and market it to the proper customer because we have an excellent product and an internal design, quality and marketing staff. Sending new products to iCAT for prototype and validation includes any new products with new dimensions and load distribution capabilities. We then put it on the market. Today, we have iCAT accreditation for 200 trailer models. The FY 2022-23 would see a turnover of Rs 300 crore compared to the prior year’s close of Rs 100 crore,” concludes Gyan Singh. For the uninitiated, Jagdama Trailers (P) Ltd. is part of the well know group Jagdamba in Raigarh. The company has gradually diversified, adding new businesses and factories in a number of industries, including steel, minerals, excavation, amusement and automotive, starting with some very tiny operations like crushers, textiles and steel, among others, since the 1990s.