Set up in 2013 as a trading firm, Prime Auto Systems has carved a niche for itself as a specialist in bus paint application. Its founder, Mr. K. Shrinidhi, who is also the National Convener for the Bus Operators Confederation of India (BOCI), is happy with the way his company is consistently diversifying its business since inception.
Mr. Shrinidhi shared: “We started with Nippon Paints and today we are the biggest dealers of the brand in south India. Also, we have been awarded by the company as its largest dealer in terms of volumes in this region. And the best part is that they are now supporting us with their new nanotechnology. This technology enables paint to be used direct to the metal, which gives an extremely clear coat that leads to an excellent finish and, most importantly, the time taken is very little.”
Catering to bus industry
According to Mr. Shrinidhi, the niche market is the premium bus segment which is about 600 buses. He added: “The premium segment is giving us a platform to build superior buses which are in the mid range and these are competing with the premium segment buses. Also the quality, with respect to body building, has improved tremendously. The bus industry is showing enormous growth, and I believe it will be pegged at eight per cent in sales volume by next year.”
The recent tie-up with two Indian companies – Anabond and Sumax Engineering – as their sole dealers for commercial vehicles in Karnataka have boosted the position of Prime Auto Systems as the premier paint supplier. Mr. Shrinidhi said: “We have found good interactions with many bus body builders. The tie-ups have helped us to talk to manufacturers too, and they have been interacting with us for supplies.”
Prime Auto Systems is mainly working with the bus body builders in three segments – premium, luxury or medium and stage or mofussil carriers.
He observed: “The medium or luxury bus operators are now trying to catch up with the premium bus segment. So we are catering to them with the products which are equivalent to the premium bus and these are painted with our products. This is proving good for our business. Top of the line body builders get the global technology with defined specifications and get local paint companies to supply – so this trickling down of the information is actually good for the industry. It is definitely educative for all the stakeholders involved. And we will also understand what are the new and upcoming top of the line products.”
Business diversification plans
Prime Auto Systems has recently diversified into creating a virtual platform for bus operators to network. He said: “The web platform is called Bus Mela and it is a different segment altogether. Using this, bus operators can register for free where they can login and put up their buses for sale.”
Another venture for Prime Auto Systems has been to take up dealership for a popular bus and truck air-conditioning brand across Karnataka.
All in all, the company is having a successful run supplying paint applications to a few SRTCs, besides having trained its eye on aggressive expansion plans across strategic locations in India.