Trident International specialises in the design, development and distribution of specialty tyres and wheels for industrial, construction and off-highway applications. In an exclusive interview, Shyam Gyanani gives an overview on the latest industry trends.

Do you think that the government is doing enough to promote domestic manufacturing?
It is very early to form an opinion on this; the government has made a good start by declaring intent to increase the manufacturing in India. It is very important because manufacturing as a percentage of GDP in India is very low, between 14-15 per cent. In a country like Thailand it is 30 per cent while in China it is 33 per cent. If we are able to increase manufacturing, there will be benefits across the industry and the country as a whole.

Why there is such a huge setback in the field of manufacturing?
We have had legal issues and things have not been established in a proper systematic manner. There is a need to change this mindset. Now we are seeing some announcements being made by the government. For example, if certain renewals and approvals process not responded within 3 working days it is deemed to be as allotted. These are very small steps and many more such steps need to be taken and implemented. We need plans and policies to be executed in an effective way.

Your business is directly related with the growth of the mining sector. The mining sector has not been doing well. So what helps you to keep the momentum going?
Our products are used in mining and infrastructure projects and both the sectors are affected. We do not just sell products but we provide solutions to solve problems. We approach the problems differently and hence most of our products or solutions are quite unique to Indian market.

We integrate and offer our solutions at a single point. Therefore our business is growing despite the present challenges in mining. In the next few years once the concept are accepted and people have a better understanding of what we are trying to do, then there will be a link to the broader business momentum.

How difficult it is to compete with your competitors?
We don’t have an issue to compete. However, we basically have to compete with the mindset of our customers. To help them understand and appreciate the benefits and value our solutions deliver.
What is your major target – OEM or end-user?
Our natural customer base would be the end-users and our solutions cannot be deployed through a dealer network. We have to be in direct contact with the end-users. To develop a solution or solve a problem we need to know what the problem is.

Our products are application specific and meant for severe duty service, therefore the OEMs need to advise us the application/service conditions to enable us offer a suitable solution.

Will you continue with the end-users segment or try for OEMs in future?
We do engage with OEMs when they are developing a new product or when they have certain issues. We are in contact with a major OEM who is developing a new product for use in rough terrains. Thus we are already in touch with them and understood the concept. They have also placed a trial order to us.

How do you compete with pricing?
Pricing in India has always been a challenge but now there is a growing awareness of TCO (total cost of ownership) as against the concept of price, the customers are becoming more aware of the implications of the downtime, higher maintenance and safety. These are the things which certainly become more important in the minds of customers.