Synergic Trailer & Auto Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (STAS), a home-grown firm engaged in providing complete trailer & automotive solutions to its esteemed customers such as OEMs, logistics companies/divisions and also to replacement market dealers across the country, has carved a niche of its own by providing class-leading trailer parts and offering personalised services. Sourcing its products from the China-based ‘Fuhe’, the company has adopted the business model of marketing its products under its own brand name in the country since inception. STAS’ deals in trailer parts such as axles, suspensions, landing gears, rim, king pin, twist locks, slack adjusters, scam shafts, etc. Earlier, the New Delhi-based firm was operating under a different brand name and was rechristened STAS in 2011.
In an exclusive interaction with MOTORINDIA, Mr. Ranjan Sabu, CEO, Synergic Trailer & Auto Solutions Pvt. Ltd., said: “With over a decade of experience in handling trailer & auto parts & with a complete understanding of its technical aspects, customers’ ever-changing requirements of products as well as their expectations of after sales service requirements, and with an exposure which includes auto parts sales, trailer parts sales and complete trailer manufacturing & sales, we remain confident of our competence in satisfying our customers and providing them with all they want in this segment. We are neither a distributor nor an importer but an Indian marketing company backed by our own service network. We are basically a marketing company dealing in superior quality trailer parts sporting our brand name STAS. Although most of the parts are imported from China, selling them under Synergic umbrella gives flexibility in choosing the right, quality-driven partners from time to time. Secondly, it also gives us an opportunity to go in a big way with our brand and reinforce our position in the marketplace. We have thus created an Indian brand of products rather than a Chinese or a German brand. This gives a local flavor in the market. Furthermore, we are also providing an excellent service backup.”
Talking about its area of expertise, Mr. Sabu noted: “Our focus is mainly on the heavy commercial segment with a special emphasis on trailers.”
It is to be mentioned here that STAS’ product lines are divided into main assembly parts such as suspensions, wheel rims, and landing gears and into trailer components like axle parts, suspension parts, twist locks, slack adjusters and spare parts. At present almost 98 per cent of the turnover is derived from assembly parts. However there is a clear mandate to the team to focus on spares as well so as to give a push to the bottomline.
Some of the leading clients in its roster comprise Seamless Autotech, TSI, Sandhya Containers, VRL Logistics, NLB, Satrac, Tratec, AMW, Tata DLT, SVLL, Siddhi Vinayak Engineers, Puzzolana Machinery, etc. It is also running a handful of distributors like Race Innovation in Chennai, and one each in Rajasthan, Mumbai and Bhuj. Currently, it has its warehouses in Mumbai and Ahmedabad with a facility each in Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur and Mundra on the cards.
When queried whether STAS will be looking at widening its product portfolio, Mr. Sabu said: “We already have mechanical suspension and standard axles in our portfolio. We are planning to add air suspensions, bogie axles, steering axles and ABS-compatible axles to meet the ever-changing customer demand and also to achieve statutory compliance. Having said that, we want to be a specialized and focused player in the trailer space, which is in sharp contrast to our competitors who have diversified portfolio.”
Asked to shed some light on the USPs of the company business, Mr. Sabu stated: “We are doing small things to bring in value addition for our customers. We provide service manual to every driver which guides him on ways to perform proper alignment, nut tightening with proper tightening torque, greasing, etc. It also guides them to a nearby STAS Authorized Service Station in case of a breakdown. We also map the drivers on a weekly basis to ensure maximum uptime of their vehicles, and this gives them the confidence of being associated with a company that cares. We also provide on-site service which further reduces the burden on drivers in moving the vehicle to the nearby workshop. The drivers sometimes call us (for assistance) that may at times go beyond the scope of our supplies. This is how we score over our competitors.”
Talking about its future plans to venture into manufacturing products, he noted: “We are open to source wheel rims in the Indian market. We are also open to indigenize the products which we have partially started off. We are already sourcing springs from reputed Indian manufacturers while talks are on to manufacture axles and suspensions and wheel rims in India. The discussions are at a very preliminary stage and nothing is on the table. But we are actively looking to outsource production to a North Indian-based third party player for these products.”
Expressing optimism about the unprecedented push in demand for trailers, he said STAS is confident of clocking a turnover Rs. 18 crores this financial year, Rs. 30 crores next fiscal and Rs. 50 crores by FY 2017-18. “The Government is pushing for infrastructure development in the country. Better roads and highways are now connecting all the leading cities in the country. Moreover, a lot of NE Corridors are getting connected. Also, the current trend indicates the HCV segment has resurged by 16 per cent. But the trailer market has certainly skyrocketed by up to 100 per cent. This gives us a push to enter the booming trailer market and carve a niche for ourselves. We also see GST implementation which might happen in the coming year benefiting us in the long run. Once the law is enacted, we have the flexibility to sell products from my warehouse in one city to a customer in another city.”
However, Mr. Sabu maintained that the industry is not shorn of challenges: “The sad part is the lack of adequate financing in this segment. At present, if a trailer manufacturer seeks loans to build 100 trailers (from a bank), he is financed for only 30 units. So our industry is hugely contingent on bank funding, I think the Government should look into this aspect very seriously. If the banks open up and provide more funding to the trailer makers, our industry will get a major fillip”, concluded Mr. Sabu.