‘On Time – Every Time’, says the tagline of a reputed fleet operator in the country. The Hisar-based Ganesh Roadlines has been providing transportation and logistics services across the country since 1997, with a fleet of over 500 vehicles comprising a wide variety of trailers, including low bed, semi-low bed, high bed and platforms trailers, multi-axles trucks and tankers. The company is primarily involved in steel transport which accounts for 75 per cent of its business, with the rest coming from the other segments such as PVC, rubber, etc.
With a humble beginning around two decades back, Ganesh Roadlines has grown rapidly over the years, bagging transport contracts from a number of leading steel makers in the country. Says Mr. Ashwani Rajliwala, Partner, Ganesh Roadlines: “We began with around 10 trucks in 1997 and now have 512 vehicles in our fleet. We have eight Volvo pullers, four Tata Primas, 140 hydraulic axles, 70 49-tonners – mostly Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland and some AMWs. Every year we add around 150 vehicles to our fleet and remove close to 50 of them. We work with major steel companies, including the likes of Jindal, Posco, JSW, and many others.”
Ganesh Roadlines does trips, which are over 3,000 km in distance on an average, primarily between the North and West regions and has started operations in East India this year, transporting goods to and from parts of West Bengal and Odisha. The company has more than 200 office staff and over 670 drivers on its rolls, with 22 branches in the States where it functions. The firm clocked a turnover of Rs. 141 crores in FY15 and is expecting to touch the Rs. 200 crore-mark in the current fiscal.
The JK connect
Every successful company has many partners in progress, and one such long-term partner for Ganesh Roadlines has been JK Tyre. While the logistics provider focusses on its core business, it relies on JK’s proven product performance and distinguished competence in aftersales support to deliver the best results when it comes to tyres.
“We work on the AMC scheme with the OEMs and do not maintain a big workshop. Our core business is transportation; so by focusing on it, we earn more rather than focusing on the workshop. Tyres play a major role in our operations. Today, due to increasing competition, we need to be cost-competitive, for which diesel and tyre costs need to be kept under control to ensure the cost per km is low. JK takes care of all our requirements and issues related to tyres, and we focus on our core business”, adds Mr. Ashwani.
Close to 90 per cent of the transporter’s fleet runs on JK-branded tyres, 75 to 80 per cent of which are radials. The company has a tyre control team at its workshop which is in regular touch with the JK Fleet Management team and receives inputs on how to improve fuel mileage, extend tyre life, and choose tyres suited for different applications and at different positions on the vehicle, etc.
“The JK Fleet Management team offers us technical consultancy providing lot of inputs through awareness programs to enhance our operational efficiency. We maintain a register of driver queries and common issues related to tyres such as tyre mileage, tyre life, etc. and discuss them with the JK team”, he explains.
JK radials have delivered excellent performance on the company’s fleet, running for over 1,20,000 km on an average. The logistics provider consumes around 250 new tyres every month, in addition to 150 retreaded ones which run for around 70,000 km. Ganesh Roadlines has entrusted its retreading requirements to JK Tread which takes care of all aspects, including supply of retread rubber, and providing aftersales service as and when required.
With such close co-operation through a mutually-enriching association, it might be apt to say JK Tyre forms an integral part of Ganesh Roadlines’s success story. Mr. Ashwani fittingly sums up: “Whenever we have any query or requirement, we feel we have a single-window solution, thanks to the JK Fleet Management team. We keep upgrading our knowledge from time to time and are very satisfied with the solutions and aftersales support they offer us. This is why we have not thought about anyone else for tyres. JK works with us like a family member and we are ‘extra comfortable’ with them.”