One of the largest trucking hubs of flat-bed trailers and tip-trailers in India, Jaipur is a very influential market for JK Tyre that basks a cumulative market share of around 70 per cent in all truck segments in the region. With an excellent sales and service support network and community welfare activities in the region for decades, the tyre brand boasts a strong goodwill among drivers and trucking fleets.
Jaipur as a leading-edge region for tractor-trailers warrants no formal introduction in the trucking circles. And those laymen who aren’t aware of the region’s semi-trailer legacy will definitely realise the mammoth extent of it when they travel by any national highway leading to or passing by the city of Jaipur. The sheer number of tractor-trailers plying on the multi-lane highways and expressways wouldn’t fail to amaze them, and if at all they were driving along those truck convoys, it has to be a fagging experience considering how proficient those drivers cruise in their tractor-trailers.
Those numerous trucking stops on all those highways can be rightly called as ‘trailer towns’, as they host thousands of roadside workshops and tyre repair kiosks, along with branded tyre sales points, on either side of the road. Many of them are unorganised and informal, occupying the entire stretch of service lanes in which tractor-trailer units are parked and serviced. One can spot large heaps of used and damaged tyres thrown out by truckers near those tyre kiosks, that also lets us know the sheer volume of truck tyre consumption in this region.
Significant Tyre Market
Basically a trucking market catering to the logistic demands of the flourishing cement industry in and around the region, Jaipur is famous for tip-trailers. Flat-bed trailers and tankers come next, along with a fair chunk of multi-axle bulkers and medium-duty haulers filling up the trucking space here. Located on the Delhi-Mumbai expressway and road freight corridor, Jaipur is a major trucking hub for outstation trucks as well. All these attributes testify the enormous potential of new tyre consumption and tyre-related services in the region.
Managing Director of New Jaishankar Transport Company Mr. Balbir Singh narrates his relationship with JK Tyre with pride and a smile in his face. The Jaipur-based trucking company has one of the largest fleets in the region with 550 trucks, primarily catering to cement, agricultural products, and steel logistics across Rajasthan and the rest of India. “My tryst with JK Tyre occurred in 2005 and the very first impression of the brand was overwhelmingly positive. Its products and customer engagements were an outright hit, and our partnership has grown stronger till date”, he recollected.
His company was one of the first fleets in Jaipur to shift to JK tubeless tyres, as early as in 2008. “My monthly tyre consumption stands at 300 units, a major portion of which is sourced from JK Tyre. The brand makes great value proposition for fleets with quality performance and superior service”, he added, while revealing that he has just embarked on a trial run with JK Tyre’s latest Tyre Pressure Management System (TPMS) in five trucks to get the taste of the ‘Smart Tyre’ technology that monitors tyre pressure and temperature in real-time using sensors. Mr. Singh has also established a retreading plant with the help of JK Retread, to cater to his own and market demands.
JK Tyre, the ‘Mentor’-maker
Says Mr. V.K. Singh, Zonal Manager (F.M.) North – JK Tyre: “Customers like Mr. Balbir are an asset to our brand and are mentors for trucking fleets in the country. His New Jaishankar Transport Company has the highest fitment of tubeless tyres in the entire country among fleets, and his savings by switching to tubeless technology is immense, since he had switched much earlier than others. In fact, he has even gone for costlier Alcoa wheel rims for his trucks, which augment his tyre performance and overall tyre life.”
Further, he added that Mr. Balbir Singh’s investments on retreads have significantly come down to around Rs. 3,000 per retread from over Rs. 5,000 with his own unit, something that makes a very good value proposition for large fleets by embracing new technologies at the right time. Asked on the unique market demand of the Jaipur region, JK Tyre says that this is the largest market for 11.00R20 tyres in the country, with its JETWAY JUH3, JUH5, and JDM model ranges popular among truckers here. This is also a region with three JK Tyre ‘Truck Wheels’ centres – one exclusively run for Tanushree Logistics Private Limited (TLPL) and the other two for open market operations – according to the company.
“JK Tyre makes hearty and ever-lasting relationships with its fleet customers. So, more than their product performance, their responsive service network and fleet support is what matters more”, opines Mr. Balbir Singh. The company’s initiatives on driver training, safety awareness, and community well-being including periodic health camps that are being organised for several years is what is multiplying its brand popularity among various stakeholders in the trucking region, while also making it the market leader in the tyre business, he added.