Aggressive effort to spread awareness on tyre maintenance
Goswami Enterprises, JK Tyre’s Truck Wheels Centre in Indore, kicked off operations in August 2015 with the aim of servicing trucks and buses plying on the NH 59 highway. The Truck Wheels Centre, started by Mr. Bharat Goswami, Director, with the complete backing of JK Tyre, offers a complete basket of services including tyre sales, fitment, alignment, rotation, air pressure check-up, nitrogen filling, and overall repair and maintenance of commercial vehicles.
Talking about his long-standing association with JK Tyre and as to why he decided to take up its Truck Wheels Centre, Mr. Goswami says: “We started this Truck Wheels Centre in August 2015 and perform tyre alignment, changing, rotation, nitrogen filling and other operations here. We have been running tankers since 2000, under the name Goswami Tanker Corporation, and currently have a fleet of around 50 vehicles, transporting petroleum, chemicals, lubricants and other material. All our vehicles are fitted exclusively with tyres from JK Tyre. We have been associated with JK Tyre since our inception and are very happy with their service. We work together as a team and they have always supported us extremely well which is why we decided to partner them for the Truck Wheels Centre.”
Business has been good for Goswami Enterprises since it opened its doors for customers around two years back. “Our Truck Wheels Centre today services more than 250 vehicles a month, a number of which are repeat customers who are very satisfied with our services. We service all brands of truck – Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra, Eicher, BharatBenz and others are happy with the current setup and the way our business has grown. Our target is to service 400 vehicles per month, which we hope to achieve by the end of the current financial year, following which we would consider going for further business expansion. We are constantly studying and exploring the market and might go in for a new centre at a different location where the flow of trucks and buses is higher”, reveals the Director.
Goswami Enterprises currently has around 15 people as part of its workforce, all of whom have been thoroughly trained by JK Tyre. While the employees have been handpicked by the owner after necessary hands-on inspection at work, they have also been trained by representatives from the equipment suppliers such as Hunter who are represented in India by the well-known garage equipment distributor Madhus.
Need for tyre alignment
It is recommended for trucks and buses to have their tyres checked for proper alignment every 10,000 km, doing which could guarantee fleets fuel savings to the tune of 10 per cent and also extend the tyre life by 10 per cent. Despite the fact that the savings are quite significant, awareness about the need for tyre alignment and proper maintenance is yet to penetrate deep into our country’s CV market.
Shares Mr. Goswami: “We believe only around 40 per cent of the market in this part of the country is aware about tyre alignment and maintenance as compared to nearly 90 per cent awareness in the South India. This is also one of the reasons why we decided to set up such a centre as we feel it is important to spread awareness about tyre maintenance and the kind of benefits it provides. We conduct Customer Introduction Programs (CIPs) at our centre twice a month and also carry out the programs at nearby transport nagars to improve awareness among the fleet community.”
Asked about the biggest challenge area in his business, he replies: “Educating people about the importance of maintenance is the biggest challenge. If that happens, business becomes very easy for us. Fleet owners would ensure proper tyre maintenance if they understand the benefits and as to how much they could save as a result. I feel drivers and owners have equal responsibility in this regard which is why we need to educate both these stakeholders who form a very important part of our ecosystem. Together with JK Tyre, we are committed towards spreading awareness about the need and benefits of tyre maintenance.”
