JK Tyre is known for forging partnerships with customers that last for a really long time, with the tyre maker having several key accounts across the country that are decades old and still going strong. Continuing our Smart Fleetz series, we turned down south this month with a visit to one of JK’s oldest and most loyal fleet customers, SKLS Lorry Service in Chennai.
Mr. K. Dhamodharan, SKLS Managing Director, was the man of the moment during our interaction at SKLS’ Head Office at Red Hills on the outskirts of the city. The bold and experienced fleet operator has seen it all in his four decades of experience in the trucking field since he bought his first Ashok Leyland truck way back in 1977. Today, SKLS has grown into one of the most respected and sought-after fleet operators in the region, with its excellent service in bulk goods transport.
Said Mr. Dhamodharan: “I started as a driver in 1977 when I bought my first Ashok Leyland truck. We are into bulk transport involved in the movement of cement, coal and fertilizers and transport over 10,000 MT of bulk every month. We have a fleet strength of 150 vehicles, almost all of which are from Ashok Leyland, thanks to their good resale value in the market. We have recently replaced a set of old vehicles with 50 new U-Trucks which are performing excellently well.”
Mr. Dhamodharan is currently President of the Red Hills Lorry Owners’ Association, which has over 2,000 vehicles under its supervision, while he also heads the Andhra Group booking office in the locality.
SKLS’ fleet comprises mainly 49 ton bulkers while it also has some 37 and 31 ton vehicles as part of its fleet. The company’s major routes include Chennai-Hyderabad and other parts of Andhra Pradesh, while it also touches parts of Karnataka and Puducherry.
SKLS handles the transport requirements of some of the major cement producers in the country, including Zuari Cement, Madras Cements, Jaypee Cements and Chettinad Cement, works as an official contractor for Madras Fertilizers and has also signed a contract with Krishnapatnam Port. In addition to its lorry service, the outfit has a range of other services, including SKLS Filling Station, SKLS Logistics and SKLS Warehouse, with Mr. Dhamodharan’s sons, Mr. D. Muthukumar and Mr. D. Muthu Raja, operating at the heart of all its businesses.
The JK touch
SKLS has grown from scratch over the last four decades. A main contributing factor for its success is its ability to keep up promises when it comes to delivery and service, as reflected in the trust its customers place on the company. Despite challenges in running a fleet business in the current highly competitive environment, SKLS has been going strong for four decades, thanks to its commitment to customer satisfaction by providing reliable service.
One important partner who has been instrumental in SKLS’ growth for the last two decades is JK Tyre. The transporter is indebted to the outstanding service rendered by the home-grown tyre maker which remains a single source of tyres for SKLS even today, despite growing competition in the field.
“We have relied only on JK Tyre for all our tyre requirements for the last 20 years. We have received complete support from JK, and they have been very co-operative with us throughout our association. We are well connected with the entire Fleet Management team at JK, right from the top bosses, and owe our success to partners like them. We have a direct account with JK and are like a family”, stated Mr. Dhamodharan quite emphatically.
SKLS’ top three expenses come in the form of diesel and toll charges, followed by tyres, which account for nearly six per cent of its total spending. The company procures around 90 tyres every month, which add up to just over 1,000 tyres annually, every single one of it from JK.
The fleet operator was one of the earliest adopters of radials, right from when JK launched them in the market, with over 90 per cent of its tyres being radial at present. “We use over 90 per cent radials on our fleet and get an average life of 1,00,000 km across our fleet. Radial tyres in the rear axle after being used for 50 per cent of their life are shifted to the front axle to give best results. We also perform retreading of the tyres, which gives an additional life of around 70,000 km”, he explained.
Proper fleet and tyre maintenance is essential for a transporter to be successful and profitable. SKLS’ success in this regard stems from the fact that wheel maintenance operations such as alignment and balancing are performed periodically without any omission. Equally importantly, the tyre maintenance function is thoroughly supervised by a dedicated representative from JK’s Fleet Management team who pays regular visits to its premises, check tyres across its fleet and monitors tyre-related data on a dedicated PC, ensuring complete smoothness when it comes to tyre care and maintenance.
Apart from the routine services, the JK Fleet Management team supports SKLS with valuable technical inputs and suggestions for reducing tyre wear and improving tyre mileage from time to time, which result in significant cost savings in the long run.
When asked to sum up his company’s association with JK Tyre, the MD fittingly said: “Selling tyres is one thing, but servicing and following-up to satisfy the customer is more important. JK does it excellently well, which is why we are perfectly happy in being their partner.”
