A reputed name in the trailer industry, Tata DLT is all set to meet the demand for heavy duty air-suspensions, special axles spacing, tipper bodies, containers, defence, railways and V-shaped bulkers in order to unearth potential as a quality manufacturer in the untapped markets reports Rajesh Rajgor
One of the biggest brands of trailers and truck bodies in India is going to utilise its forte of custom design and advanced engineering techniques to diversify in untapped markets. To begin with, Tata DLT has introduced their ‘Gajraj’ range with special axle spacing. Sharing information, Rajeev Batra, CEO, Tata DLT shares: “We have recently registered 100 variants where customers can avail extra payload by specific axle spacing along with air suspension combination, depending on their application, to get 52 tonnes, 54 tonnes or 55 tonnes passing.”
The Gajraj range addresses the gap between 46T and 55T GCVW. With this range Tata DLT has arranged the conventional 4 x 2 prime mover to carry increased pay load of up to 6.5-9 tonnes. Divulging more details, Batra states, “Our Gajraj range is within the permissible limits of CMVR and presents different configurations with the upgraded design. All the designs are ARAI-approved, making us India’s first trailer manufacturer to get over 100 trailer variants, cementing our authentic and trustworthy quality in the market.” For the uninitiated, the Gajraj range of trailers has successfully passed the ARAI track trail test as per AIS-113 at Wabco, Chennai with the ARAI-certified Tata DLT axle and Tata DTL 13T air suspension kit. The range offers three types of configurations i.e., in 52T, 54T and 55T. This redesigning is sure to reduce the operating cost and increase customers’ profitability.
With operators moving from mechanical to air suspension, and looking to capitalize on the one tonne extra payload in an air-suspension axle, the demand for the product is only growing. On this line, Tata DLT Heavy Duty Air Suspension are the first air suspension in the industry which is deigned & tested for 13 tonnes capacity. The air suspension boasts of an overall 1-year warranty, along with the 6 months warranty on the rubber bellow. “Our large heavy duty air springs, mounted close to the axle result in superior ride performance. Due to load sensing spring and adjustable shock absorber characteristics, sensitive handling of cargo, vehicle & driver comfort is ensured in all loading conditions. The rubber bushing absorbs road shock while maintaining lateral tracking and superior roll resistance. Moreover, the heavy-duty shock absorbers reduce rough road vibrations. The precise track alignment delivers low tyre wear and gives better mileage, hence increases the overall profitability for the transporters,” expresses Batra.
The expansion doesn’t just stop here for the top-notch player. The company is working on the configuration of tipper bodies for rigid trucks., Batra elaborates: “We have seen OEMs introducing rigid body vehicles in the range of 37 tonnes to 46 tonnes. We can easily focus on supplying the demand for tippers coming from customers who bid for infrastructure and construction projects. The life of tippers is 5-6 years and we see a lot of replacement demand coming up in the next 12-18 months.”
“The demand could range anywhere between 8,000 to 10,000 units per month across India. Hence, this is one segment we are fully equipped to deliver with super focus on highly productive 20, 23, 28 and even 32 cubic metres category as per the customer’s demand,” he adds. In the same breadth, the company is committed to deliver V-shaped bulkers to majority of players in the northern part of the country. While the southern region moved on to bulkers on rigid trucks a couple of years ago, Batra believes in the next two years there will be a lot of takers for V-shaped bulkers even from states like Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, that are still using bulkers with trailers.
“The shift will ensure that the capital expenditure will reduce for the transporters, leading them to do a greater number of trips with 40-42 cubic metres on rigid trucks. The structure shall ensure maximum load-bearing capacity with low non-laden weight and our construction will ensure maximum torsional stability,” he explains.
Exploring Untapped Opportunities
Tata DLT is known for its close work with all the OEMs. However, the diversification will see them working with leading and emerging transporters right from the concept to the utilisation stage. The company has taken on to itself to help arrange financial support for customers’ requirement in close cooperation with commercial vehicle manufacturers and financial institutions. “We are excited to offer our services to the open market with the goal of providing each one of our customers with products of international quality. We want to leverage our years of experience in the commercial vehicle industry to emerge as a preferable company for the trailer and allied industry in India,” Batra says.
Apart from OEMs and direct customers, Tata DLT is all set to extend its offerings for the prestigious and challenging defence and railway requirements. “There is no organised player to serve the quality requirement of defence trailers in the stipulated timelines. The defence sector requires a worthy and quality player who can abide by their stringent norms and is committed to long-term association. Right now, we are looking for contracts and are open for everything, be it on rigid body, hydraulic modular trailer, etc. In this regard we are also meeting not only direct defence personnel in RCI and DRDO but also Tier I vendors like Larsen and Toubro, Godrej, Tata Power, etc.,” Batra reveals. The company is also looking to serve Indian Railways. “We will be attached with railway factories and may supply them fabricated components. With the infrastructure and capacity, we have set up, we are ready to work to fulfil their small to big requirements, from components to bogies,” Batra informs.
Infrastructure and Resources
With two plants in Pune and one each in Ajmer and Jamshedpur, Tata DLT is well-oiled to meet varied volumes. Emphasising on the allocation, Batra reveals, “The Ajmer plant was started by us in 2015, doing 150 trailers per month and today it has 300 units per month. On the same lines, we started the Jamshedpur plant in July and were only doing assembly. Now, the greenfield facility will see trailer production capacity happening to the tune of 400 units per month. This will be divided into two segments, one for the standard trailers and another for tippers and tip-trailers.”
In Pune, Tata DLT will dedicate one plant to the trailer requirements of Maharashtra, Gujarat and some quantities for the southern market. The second plant will cater to the defence and railway requirements. “The plant will boast of special lines and human resources that will be trained to meet the distinct timeline required by the two institutional projects. Further, we also plan to extend our manufacturing footprint in Chennai for a mixed range of products,” Batra shares. Due to the ongoing pandemic, Tata DLT too faced difficulty in holding on to their factory workers who left for their villages. However, as the demand picked up pace from September, they saw reverse migration with workers returning to the cities.
“Almost all people have joined back. What appears is that the worse phase is behind us and things will only improve from here on. The ramp-up of capacity, resources and supply chain will be revived from January as we see a spurt in demand,” Batra opines. With the ramp-up, Tata DLT is also eyeing a fair share of exports. Batra believes they are quite competitive in terms of quality and rate when compared with the Chinese players. “We are targeting business opportunities for standard trailers in Bangladesh, Myanmar, and over the long term, through Tata International, we look forward to business in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Senegal,” he says.
Quality Measures for Efficiency
Tata DLT has been known as a premium market player in the market. Over the years, with sourcing optimisation and rising volumes the company has reduced the price gap between them and competition who sell in an unorganised manner. While Tata DLT has maintained the brand premium, they haven’t compromised on the quality measures required for optimum efficiency. “We do not change the material just because of the price that we have settled for in a deal. We use Hardox and Domex steel. We buy from Jindal, Tata Steel and Essar. This gives us quality assurance to pass on to our customers,” Batra states. The second point after the procurement of raw material that ensures optimum efficiency is the process.
Elaborates Batra: “We take utmost care while cutting the parts for the trailers by using plasma and laser cutting rather than a normal gas cutting procedure. This ensures proper welding of joints. We are the only trailer manufacturer that has certification of TS. Our welders get certified by a third-party agency on their skills every quarter. As far as the consumables in welding are concerned, we do flux welding, which is highly precise.” With Tata DLT’s stringent material inspection, quality checks, high-quality aggregates and components, it wouldn’t be a difficult task for the seasoned player to create new opportunities in untapped markets and excel in each one of them.