Eastern Treads charts expansion

Eastern Treads Limited (ETL), a member of the Rs 600-crore Eastern Group, is embarking on an expansion drive.

As part of this, it would soon offer a new line of value-added products catering to the requirements of airlines and defence. Besides, it would tie up with a Germany-based company for marketing its products in the European Union.

“We’ve started implementing a set of well-thoughtout strategies to power the company to bigger growth,” said ME Mohammed, managing director of ETL. Talks are at an initial stage and the German firm will have a marginal stake in ETL, he said

The new products being introduced include mountings, beltings, hoses, tubings, seals and other allied products.

ETL has a production facility at Oonnukal, near Kochi, with a monthly processing capacity of 600 tonne tread rubber.

“We’ve the latest technology to manufacture tyre retreading materials both in hot and cold processes. This supports our growth and market expansion plans,” said S Rajesh, general manager (operations).

According to Rajesh, the company is also in the process of widening its supply base with the country’s major road transport corporations. “We recently entered the West Asian market exporting a maiden consignment of tread rubber,” said Mohammed.

Plans are afoot to export 200 tonne tread rubber by the end of the first quarter of next fiscal. The West Asian markets include UAE, Oman, Bahrain, KSA, Qatar, Yemen and Jordan.

“The EU’s go-green policy has thrown open exciting opportunities for tread rubber. We want to cash in on this,” Rajesh said.