The Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar (SGTN), located on the outskirts of Delhi, is arguably the largest trucking hub in Asia. Housing hundreds of small-time transporters with just a few trucks to large fleet, the trucker town is indeed a hotbed for tyre consumption in the Northern region. With over 44 per cent market share, JK Tyre is the market leader in the truck tyres here. The brand’s imprints abound all over the town; every signature and banner of JK Tyre you notice and reminiscence of their customer engagement activities that you come across during conversations in this town tells you the brand’s success story.
The Indian oil petrol station right at the entrance of SGTN beckons all those 3,500 trucks that drive in and out every day. Abutting the busiest National Highway 44 that extends from Srinagar to Kanyakumari, the trucker town is a major transhipment hub in the northern leg of the North-South highway, with trucks and loads coming from adjoining business regions of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and western UP. Trucks remain parked everywhere – from either side of the entrance road to tiny streets deep inside! Even that petrol station was not spared.
A majority of transporters plying in Delhi NCR and Northern states have their booking offices in SGTN, while a huge chunk of them even have their garages and parking yards here. At any given point of time, at least some 8,000 truck drivers remain in the transport nagar, either resting below the trucks or chit-chatting at walkways and dhabas, while waiting for jobs. There are a thousand other helpers and spotters, load men, mechanics, trucking spare dealers and retailers, contractors, transport agents, and many more hang around here for livelihood all day. Essentially, this trucker town sustains over two lakh families more than anything.
JK Tyre recently organised a health check-up camp at SGTN for the welfare of truck drivers. The camp was open for the entire SGTN folks, not just JK Tyre customers or registered drivers, and was a dedicated effort to give something back to SGTN.
Says Mr. Ramesh Kumar Maini, President of Transport Welfare Association at SGTN: “Back in 1990s when the transport center was emerging, things were all vibrant and animated. At that time the industry was not that organised, so SGTN was the prime trucking hub in the entire Northern region. Three decades on, the story remains largely the same here, although the trucking world and logistics business outside is totally different”.
The transport nagar is still identified with unorganised trucking, although a majority of legacy players from here have embraced modernity and moved over, leaving behind the huge chunk of independent, small-time truckers.
Of all consumables that truckers pay for on a regular basis, tyres come right next to fuel and play an important role in the business, notes Mr. Maini. “Thus, a right partnership with a right supplier is crucial for transporters with regard to tyres” he says, while adding that JK Tyre has been a key supplier among SGTN transporters for over two decades. “Transporters here seek value-for-money tyres that are also superior in quality and service support. Limited understanding of tyre performance and management among them calls for active support from the supplier”.
In fact, there are many large fleets in the transport nagar who are one-hundred per cent JK Tyre buyers, including Punjab Bangalore Roadlines, the family enterprise of Mr. Maini, who takes pride in claiming the tyre manufacturer as part of his family. This exemplary market base for JK Tyre at SGTN is an outcome of its consistent support system and customer engagement activities for over two decades here, coupled with superior products, technology, discounts, and right pricing of tyres.
For instance, JK Tyre was the first brand to kick-start ‘radialisation’ of truck tyres in the town some 18 years ago. Now is penetration of radial tyres is over 75 per cent, as against bias type. Presently, the company is pushing for tubeless tyres – a technology in vogue that is fast catching up among those involved in long-haul and express logistics. Although predominantly OEM-driven and service infrastructure is just catching up, tubeless tyres make a wonderful business proposition and reduced downtime for transporters, even for medium and small-sized fleets of SGTN, it claims.
“SGTN is always close to our hearts. The awareness level of truckers on tyre management in this cluster is much higher than we would imagine, and they constantly look for better products and value-propositions. JK Tyre tries to keep them informed and engaged on changing trends and technologies, while addressing their individual requirements with customised and complete solutions”, says Mr. Sanjeev Sharma, General Manager (Fleet Management), Truck Bus Radials, JK Tyre. For instance, the brand’s recently launched tyre Jetway JUM 295/80 R22.5 (16PR) and Jetway JBS 6 has received immense response from transporters here, he pointed out.
JK Tyre maintains an exclusive office and a dedicated fleet management team at SGTN that involves in a variety of activities including aid to large fleets on choosing right tyre models and preventive maintenance, ‘Heal the Wheel’ tyre health check-ups, consultancy sessions with local transporters to promote new technologies, driver and truck safety related training, and so on. The brand is also into long-term service agreements with some of the fleets here, taking entire control of tyre management, performance analysis, and data management.
“Today tyre management requires high investment in new equipment, garage spaces, skilled mechanics, and IT setups to understand and analyse tyres. We offer transporters both customised and complete service packages on price per truck per month basis”, says Mr. Sharma, while adding that fleets here are increasingly understanding their long-term benefits despite market downturn and mediocrity that prevails in SGTN.
Moreover, JK Tyre says it is genuinely committed to the overall well-being of the trucking community of this town. Drivers, helpers and mechanics here are more vulnerable to severe health and livelihood risks these days, thanks to shrinking jobs and pays, as market demand for ‘hire and haul’ trucking has come down to just 60 per cent of what it used to be some three years ago, according to Mr. Maini and other transporters.
“It’s not just a business relationship we have developed with SGTN. Giving back to the community is central to the culture of JK Tyre. It’s in our DNA. We strongly believe that serving local communities is not only integral to running a business successfully, it is part of our individual responsibilities as citizens”, claims Mr. Sharma.