Treading Forward!

The off-the road (OTR) tyre market in India would continue to grow in coming years as India plans to invest $1.4 trillion on several infrastructure projects by 2025 including projects related to ports, railway, roads, etc. Equipment Times highlights the present market size of OTR tyres in India, emerging preferences, importance of Research & Development, plan to increase the company’s market share, new products, product support services and challenges in the OTR tyre industry.

With high labor costs, the need for improved productivity, and making the most use of resources, demand for advanced machines is likely to fuel demand for construction and mining equipment. According to the Global Infrastructure Outlook, infrastructural development investments would be valued at USD 2.8 trillion in 2021, while the expected investment demand will be USD 3.2 trillion. Infrastructure investments by both the private sector and the government are expected to rise, resulting in increased demand for construction and mining equipment.

On the other hand, OTR tyres are used in a wide range of commercial OTR vehicles, such as those used in construction, agriculture, mining, and industrial. They are made and modified to function in various difficult conditions, including high load-bearing, uneven surfaces, various weather conditions, and traction. Material compositions, tread patterns, and other OTR tyres properties vary depending on the vehicle type and requirements. OTR tyres design, manufacturing, and testing are all R&D processes that consider all of the needs and standards.

Large, specialized press machines are used to produce OTR tyres, where processes such as vulcanization and curing take place. The cost of raw materials and the cost of press machines are high in producing OTR tyres. As a result, no market participant can afford to invest heavily in research and development. Additionally, construction and mining equipment require a strong load-bearing OTR tire with a robust design and treads for excellent traction, whereas agriculture equipment requires a variety of tyres, including tractors.

In the case of OTR tyres, usage patterns and conditions determine whether they need to be retread or replaced. Tire sizes vary based on the application and terrain, necessitating developing and testing a wide range of tire sizes. Customizations, a broad product variety, technological advancements, and demand fluctuations drive increasing R&D expenditures. Because research expenses are higher, manufacturers concentrate on their existing product lines, limiting the growth of the OTR tyres market’s newest divisions.

Market…

Global OTR tire market registered a sale of 64 Million Unit of tyres in 2017. Major factors propelling growth in the market are consistent increasing production and sales of OTR vehicles and rising demand for replacement OTR tyres. Moreover, global OTR tire market is forecast to register a total sale of 86.2 Million Unit of tyres by 2023. Consequently, global OTR tire market is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 5.22%, in volume terms, during 2018-2023. APAC region accounted for a volume share of 60% in global OTR tire market in 2016, owing to a large OTR vehicle fleet size. The region is anticipated to maintain its dominance in the market in the coming years as well, as the region’s volume share is projected to reach 65% by 2023. India and China are the largest markets for OTR tyres across the world. India and China cumulatively accounted for a volume share of around 50% in global OTR tire market in 2017, because of growing construction and agricultural activities coupled with increasing sales of OTR vehicles. These countries are anticipated to continue dominating global OTR tire market through 2023.

India Market…

Going back in time, a gamut of Indian tire manufacturers was focused on highway tyres for mass consumption. But the late 80s brought a change in this mindset, and with the passage of time, the shift towards OTR tyres became the need of the hour. Today, we have ushered into an era where India has emerged as one of the leading manufacturing and consumption hubs of OTR tyres primarily in the Agriculture and Mining Segments. In order to meet the growing demand, manufacturers are complimenting their production capacities with rigorous Research & Development (R&D) and innovation, a telling example of which is the gradual shift to radialization. The driving force behind constant innovation is the rate at which OEMs are technologically upgrading their offerings for Mining and Infrastructure Sectors. Be they backhoe loaders, forklifts, tipper trucks, dumpers, cranes, or excavators, all equipment’s go through frequent technological upgradations these days, with respect to diversity of applications and hauling loads. And since OEMs are the major consumers of OTR tyres, it’s imperative that tire manufacturers periodically tailor their products in accordance with the clients’ requirements.

Apart from this, OTR tyres of the modern age comply with the international standards and score high on abrasion resistance, fuel economy, and energy efficiency. Undoubtedly, innovation has emerged as the key to success. Today, the domestic OTR Tire market is quite competitive and highly concentrated and is catered by top notch players. There has been a noticeable change in the technological upgradations that the Indian industry has adopted.

Smart planning

Production planning in the tire business has changed greatly since 2000as the number of sub-brands and sizes has multiplied. Customers are demanding quicker delivery times so the order–delivery cycle has become shorter and warehouses no longer fill with products.

Tire manufacturers have to balance their production runs with orders, however and shorter product runs and complex product mixes present challenges for planning and day-to-day factory operation.

For a tire plant to be efficient, a good production plan is a crucial basis for material flow planning. Although the challenges, threats and possible pitfalls differ between brownfield and greenfield projects; an extensive, analytical and forward-looking production plan is key whenever a new process is created.

Modularisation in production

With the increased number of tire sizes, it is still possible to moderate the number of semi-finished products, if modulation is an option. Not every tire requires specific components and modularising is a good solution, for instance, with steel belts and carcass components.

Rounding tire widths slightly up or down can be a small, but highly effective, way of cutting further the number of separate products help in a plant’s inventory.

Modularisation should be systematic and planned with professional partners as it can increase productivity remarkably, even with a challenging product mix, and minimal or no investment.

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