Indian Pharma Cold Chain Market look bigger with multiple Companies in Cold Chain Products!
The current pharmaceutical supply chain scenario in India is extremely complex. One of the main reasons for this complex supply chain environment is the presence of more than 55,000 retail pharmacies which are spread across India. In India, large number of medicines and other such facilities are required to be transported to the distant areas through poorly connected routes. Due to the poor transport facilities in India the cost of drugs is much higher than the USA or Europe. About 1/3rd of the revenues generated by the drugs companies have been spent on the transportation only.
The problem of poor supply chain management becomes even more severe when the temperature sensitive drugs such as Polio vaccines, life saving drugs, etc. are required to be transported to the far flung areas. Hence the presence of proper supply chain management which also includes the temperature controlled vehicles and store houses have become important for the pharmaceutical industry of India. Now companies as well as the government have started taking initiatives to transport the medicines in such a manner that the drug or vaccines reaches the target area without losing its efficiency. Currently the market value of temperature controlled vehicles which are deployed for the transportation of pharmaceutical products is more than USD 3.8 Million, which is likely to reach at around USD 17.1 Million in next five years. Under the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017), The Department of Pharmaceutical has asked for the assistance of around INR 50 Crore (USD 9.2 Million) for setting up the cold chain facilities across India. The market value of vaccine market in India is around USD 180.5 Million, which is growing at a healthy pace of around 25%-30% annually. Vaccines require the support of temperature controlled environment right from the point of their initial stage of production to their final distribution. This indicates the unexplored potential for both the domestic as well as the international players which are present in the cold chain management system.
indian Cold Chain industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 28% over the next 4 years and reach a market size of USD 13 Billion in 2017 and is largely unorganized in nature. Thereby, presenting a great opportunity for foreign companies to explore and invest more in this sector.
The sector is growing annually at 28% with total value of cold chain industry in India is expected to reach USD 13 billion by 2017 through increased investments, modernization of existing facilities, and establishment of new ventures. However, it has been observed that the sector is not well organized and operating under below capacity. The Indian cold chain market is highly fragmented with more than 3,500 companies in the whole value system Organized players contribute only 8%–10% of the cold chain industry market and as on today, most equipment in use is outdated and single commodity based.
There are 5,381 number of total cold chain storages in India with 95% of total storage capacity under private players. It has been observed that 36% of these cold storages in India have capacity below 1,000 MT. It is a fact that 65% of India’s cold chain storage capacity is contributed by the states of Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal with the current capacity only less than 11% of what is produced can be stored.
According to industry estimates, approximately 104 million metric tons of perishable produce is transported between cities each year. About 100 million metric tons moves via Non-reefer mode and only four million metric tons is transported by reefer. Even though, India has about 250 reefer transport operators (mostly small & non integrated firms) that transport perishable products and less than 30,000 refrigerated vehicles currently ply in India. It has been observed that majority of the refrigerated vehicles (80%) are utilized for milk and milk products transportation. It is very clear that the high cost of transportation is a major challenge for refrigerated vehicles market.
India is one of the largest producers of agricultural products and one of the global leaders in the pharmaceutical sector. Yet, it is known to have a fledgling cold-chain, which results in supply chain losses of food and other resources. These losses have been stated to be as high as USD 8 to 15 billion per annum from the agriculture sector alone. To address this concern, the government had earlier constituted a National Task Force on Cold-chain in 2008.
The Government of India is one of the driving forces in developing the cold-chain industry and supports private participation through various subsidy schemes and grants. Investment in cold-chain in India was also opened under theautomatic route for 100% FDI participation. The existing cold-chain in India largely comprised (in 2010) of comparatively small private companies with a regional or local footprint.
In the previous two decades, India has been developing at a quick pace and an increasing demand for high value foods with a shift towards horticultural crops has been documented. This, coupled with rapid urbanization resulted in multi-fold changes to the spending and consumption pattern of India’s population. The existing food supply chain systems were unable to cope with these fast changing demographic trends and the lack of efficient and effective supply chains is understood to lead to a variety of losses in the perishable food segment. In 2012, Indian farmers produced 240 million metric tonnes of horticultural produce, almost equal to its grain and cereals production. Various studies indicate that 18% to 40% of this produce was lost due to supply chain inefficiencies, concluding that a focused effort was required to promote the development of the cold-chain in the country. The Indian government and its Planning Commission spelt out clear intention, that cold-chain has to be supported. Amongst the core identified development areas are the base infrastructure, environmentally friendly technologies, standards and protocols, enabling policies and specialized skills.
Immense business opportunities appear on the horizon of the transport segment as the nascent cold chain domain stands poised for a giant leap forward
“A rupee saved is a rupee earned” – an oft referred statement of wisdom practically applicable in every facet of life due to its direct and immediate impact, indeed has far-reaching implications to the industrial segments. In the prevalent competitive business space with emphasis on sustainability and environmental protection, the bottom line has become critical for the companies in every sphere of activity. Hence it should come as no surprise if the cost optimisation approach has been accorded highest priority and importance in the cold chain terrain – to bring down the enormous wastage of fruits & veg and allied products, poultry, fish, meat, milk & dairy products, etc., due to lack of cold chain infrastructure and/or transport facilities. The wastage statistics and the financial implications thereof are mind-boggling and because of the same, successive govts in office have initiated several steps thro’ policies and plans to alleviate the problems. Yes, today the opportunities and actions are very much in the sunrise sector of cold chain domain, expected to grow in leaps and bounds in the timeline ahead.
Evolution
There has been commendable progress in the international scene of cold chain segment since early 1940s and after the introduction of refrigeration equipment – same signalling the downhill path for the crushed ice and salt combination widely used then for transportation of fish and meat products. Today in the developed countries, majority of the cold chain products are transported through reefer vehicles (reefers) and in India the tech was showcased around late 1980s; and since then the growth has been slow and not matching up to the international trends. However in the recent times, with the rapidly changing scenario of better roads, connectivity, urbanisation and the increasing consumer needs thereof, the reefer route has picked up in an impressive way.
Reefers is a generic term, derived from of word ‘refrigerated’ and referring to products stored/transported in enclosed refrigerated space, viz., in temperature controlled ambience, be it on a truck, marine / intermodal container, van or any carrier vehicle. With respect to the transport carrier moving on roads the term refers to a vehicle fitted with refrigeration unit and playing an important role in the cold chain supplies. Typically the reefers (reefer vehicles in the context) provide controlled temperature ranging from -25 to +15 deg C and have slowly started replacing the conventional vehicles used in the segment. Cold chain transport started initially with insulated containers with/without ice and is prevalent even today in the transport of milk products, fish and meat. To understand the popular cold chain transport vehicles, developments, challenges and the growth prospects, we met the varied stakeholders ranging from service providers to body builders, equipment manufacturers and end users – read on for the interesting insights shared about the vibrant sector.
Market demands and trends
Even a cursory glance at the well documented data would reveal the bottlenecks in the cold chain and the need for reefers and other cold chain transport vehicles. Out of the 105 million ton of perishable goods transported across India each year, only 4 million ton is transported via reefers route; and the perishable goods loss amounts to Rs. 1 lakh crores! Though more than 30,000 reefers ply all across India, most are run by unorganised and small service providers. While the percentage of fruits and vegetables movement thro’ cold chain in the US is 85%, Thailand 40% in India it’s negligible – throwing up clearly the enormous business opportunities for the domain players.
Mr. Sathish Kumar .T, Managing Director of Milky Mist Dairy, says: “We have a wide range of cold chain vehicles starting from 3 ton to 31 ton GVW. On the lower end, Tata 207 and Isuzu crew cabin pick-up truck used as reefers are deployed in secondary distribution, both for delivery and marketing. We do not have the luxury of time to book the order and subsequently deliver; even half a day is critical for the quality of perishable dairy products. Hence our dealer goes to each and every shop in a locality with the complete range of dairy products like paneer, butter, cheese, ghee etc. in the reefers; replaces only the products low on stock in the visi cooler supplied by Milky Mist and proceeds to the next shop. Sustained temperature control all thro’ the supply chain ensures the product reaches the consumer in fresh factory produced condition.”
Mr. Sudarshan S. Ananth, Territory Vice President and Business Head, Thermo King refrigeration unit firm, comments: “There is increasing demand in reefer semi-trailers for long haul as transporters want to carry more load per kilometre. This helps to reduce the transportation cost and same is also due to better National highways which makes big vehicle to operate smoothly; and these are majorly used for transport between one cold storage to other. Reefer trucks for short/ mid haul are also in increasing demand; it is mainly coming from Fish and Milk/Milk made products which require to travel faster within the cities or in two cities; and due to its perishable nature and growing demand for these products, there is good growth seen and expected in coming years.”
“Reefer LCV/SCV/Vans have the increasing demand as there is growth seen in food service industry and food process sector, increasing demand of ready to eat/cook, Dairy products and pharma items are increasing day by day, Easy finance options are also available to small & big transporter, where they offer finance on fully built vehicle, Also there is increased focus of OEM/NCCD that has added to growth.”
Mr. V.P. Varghese, Managing Director, Surakhsha Transport Systems, indicates: “The Indian Market for Reefer vehicles has been growing very fast and we have seen steady and high growth in demand for Reefer Vehicles in past 5 years. According to our forecast, the average annual demand for Refrigerated vehicles will be in the range of 6000 to 8000 Nos per annum. It is rather difficult to precisely estimate such a demand as the organised manufacturers are not many and the major share of the demand is catered to from the unorganised sector. Our major customers are from the integrated logistics companies, transport companies, exporters and also OEM’s. As in the case of other Automotive body building activities, the manufacture of Reefer containers in organised sector is limited and such activities are more spread in the unorganised sector. However, the market is slowly recognising the need for high quality and performing Reefer containers and as such there is a possible shift of the manufacturing activities in to the organised sector.”
Challenges and growth drivers
It is imperative to have an undisrupted, seamless and smooth functioning supply chain for the effective logistics operations and cold chain can be no exception. Today the supply chain is highly fragmented and have small time transport operators working within certain areas and cold storage facilities located without proper connectivity to meet the production or consumption centres. Apart from the above, lack of good roads/highways and technology awareness seem to be compounding to the inefficiency elements in the segment.
Macro issues are being addressed by the various state govts, central govt and nodal agencies like NCCD. From the service user fronts what factors could really accelerate the pace of the industry and make it effective? How to ensure productivity thro’ effective transport and the service providers meet the market expectations? Embracing technology is one of the ways to improve productivity opines Mr.K.Ganesh of Amirthaa brand Dairy. He adds: “We have installed GPS and data loggers in a few of our vehicles on a trial basis. This provides us on a real time basis the movement of vehicles between two locations and as well the product temperatures en route on a dynamic basis; yes, the feedback can be given to the driver to take corrective actions if we detect anomalies. Impressed by the performance, we will be implementing the above in all our reefer fleet. Secondly thro’ mobile apps, effective two-way communication can be established between dealers and the factory. We have already done it and it enables dealers to respond to customer needs and provide the feedback to the factory which accordingly reacts by scaling up/down production and attending to quality issues.”
Mr. Sanjay Sathyapalan, Business Head – Southern India, Hwasung refrigeration unit firm, affirms that knowledge dissemination and training are important for the correct handling of cold chain products – to maintain the quality and as well ensure economy of operations. The customers and operators should know that reefer is meant to maintain the product temperature within a range by taking away the incremental heat gain and not cool it down. This means pre-cooling is essential for the products getting loaded and also loading and unloading have to be done in the correct sequence to minimise the heat gain during the operations.
Growth drivers are sum total of the initiatives and ground level actions by both govt and domain players. According to Mr. Sudarshan S. Ananth, Thermo King, growth in organised retails, govt initiatives in setting up cold storages and distribution centres, growth in the food processing sector and increase in exports of processed foods should propel the industry to the next level.
Mr. Sathish Kumar of Milky Mist, asserts: “In our estimate the cold chain offers an ocean of opportunity for various companies to take part and grow. To ensure our products when delivered thro’ the reefers to the shops do not degrade before being sold to customers, we provided visi coolers at our cost to the shop keepers. We started with 120 visi coolers in 2012 and today taking over 100 visi coolers a month to provide them for shop keepers. We are not able to meet the demand for our products and hence are putting up a new plant and all this means opportunities for all in the supply chain”.
It should be interesting to note here that anybody and everybody associated with the domain unanimously agree that the opportunities in the nascent domain are just about to take an upward spiral and needs more service providers to enter and contribute to its overall growth. With many of the traditional trucking segments getting saturated and margins squeezed, cold chain transport definitely has arrived on the business canvas as a breath of fresh air. The cold chain business all round is expected to grow at a CAGR around 28% and market size touch Rs. 750 billion by 2017. Hence it’s just about the right time for the existing and new players to rejig their business plans and get ready to catch the wave as it rises and move up to the next level in their business operations.
Surakhsha
Surakhsha Transport Systems (India) P. Ltd., Coimbatore, started in 2000, manufactures different types of super structures on truck chassis with particular emphasis on transportation of products under controlled temperature. Mr. V.P. Varghese Managing Director talks to MOTORINDIA with his insights.
Excerpts:
Kindly elaborate on your reefer building/integration program.
We have been in the manufacture of Refrigerated containers since 2003 and initially we commenced the activities with manufacture of MS outer body Reefer containers and the interior with food grade stainless steel finish. The traditional method of building Reefer containers on chassis was a standalone project, which normally take 2 to 3 months for completion of fabrication and the chassis is required to start the activities. The technology for manufacture of Pre-built Reefer Containers was indigenously developed and perfected by us. In this method the Chassis is required towards the end of the manufacturing period, thus offering quick delivery of vehicles.
We have now successfully developed All Aluminium and Aluminium-GRP Composite Reefer Containers indigenously and these light weight Containers are well accepted in the market. Today we have designs for manufacture of MS, Aluminium & GRP Reefer containers on the smallest commercial vehicles like TATA ACE to the largest Multi axle rigid trucks, which can accommodate Reefer containers of size up to 34ft long (Maximum).
What are the USPs of Surakhsha reefer containers?
The main focus on the design, materials and manufacturing process for the Reefer Containers, since the inception, has been to achieve high thermal properties for Reefer containers. The Litmus test for a Reefer Containers is its ability to hold the temperature in the empty condition. In our Reefer Containers the temperature hold on time is in the range of 4.0 hrs to 4.5 hrs., the time required to gain the box temperature to 0 Deg C from the pull down temperature of -25 Deg C, when the ambient is around 35 Deg C. This is a critical parameter and it determines the thermal retention property of the containers. This parameter has a direct relation to the performance of refrigeration units and consequent its related economics like less diesel consumption, low maintenance, etc.
The second parameter, which is unique in our Reefer containers is its hygiene and cleanliness – which is an essential pre-requisite for transport of food products, pharmaceutical products and other perishable commodities. We have now successfully developed Reefer Containers with Single Joint less SS Sheet for the interior. Each Reefer container manufactured by us is water/steam washable. Jointless SS Interior entails easy and quick cleaning and less scope for bacterial growth, etc.
As stated above, We have now developed technology for manufacture of All Aluminium Reefer containers as well as Aluminium GRP Composite Reefer containers ( mostly for Small and Light Commercial Vehicles) which are corrosion and maintenance free. All Aluminium Reefer containers developed by us is almost 30% lighter in weight compared to the corresponding MS outer Reefer containers, which obviously has the advantage of more pay load, less tyre wear, better mileage, etc..
Product branding has become important USP of our All Aluminium Reefer Containers. The Container exterior is without any rivets being visible outside and offers an excellent transmit medium. The Reefer Container photographs attached herewith is self-explanatory. While the average life of the containers manufactured by us is over 10 years and we extend our product warranty for a period of 3 years, which is very well known and accepted in the market.
All Aluminium Containers manufactured by us also possess the advantage of very high Resale and Salvage value. The trouble-free performance of over 5000 reefer/insulated vehicles supplied by us and running on Indian roads stand testimony to our product quality and its performance.
Can you outline your working arrangement with vehicle OEMs?
We are the first company in the organised sector in India to commence manufacture of fully built Reefer vehicles for the vehicle OEMs. We started the activity in 2012 with M/s Ashok Leyland ltd and later on such activities are being planned with other OEMs as well. Thermo king and Carrier machines are mostly used for OEM built vehicles and the market acceptance is encouraging. While volumes are slowly picking up, we do an average production of 80 to 100 vehicles for the OEMs in a year. This trend is likely to grow upwards and arrangements are being made for post sales service support for the end customers through the dealers of both vehicle OEMs and Reefer unit suppliers.
What according to you are the key growth-drivers for the reefer segment?
There are many growth drivers for the growth of Refrigerated transport in India specially with growing awareness of processed food wastage due to lack of streamlined cold chain systems. Government initiatives and fillip given to establishment of cold chain projects in India.
+ Activities of cold chain promotional bodies such as NHB, NCCD, etc.
+ Subsidies given to cold chain projects and through various promotional agencies for establishment of cold chain projects and Refrigerated transport systems.
+ Growth of retail market in India and the entry of multi-national retail giants will be a major driving force.
+ Establishment of new and modern cold storage facility will necessarily push up demand for Refrigerated vehicles.
+ The trend of transfiguring many commodities, which have been hither to transported in normal trucks to Refrigerated vehicles is also driver.
Lamilux
Lamilux India Private Ltd., Delhi, started its India operations during 2009 and provides light-weight GRP/FRP solutions in sandwich panel construction for truck bodies. Dr. Cosima Klinger-Paul, Managing Director, shares her insights.
Excerpts:
Kindly start with a background on your journey in India.
Business operation started in 2009 with addressing all relevant truck body builders to share advantages of FRP/GRP innovative composites solutions for reefer tuck bodies. Acceptance of composites is very high due to advantages being
– Sturdy, Light weight and robust
– No Corrosion
– Food safety
– Long life (20 years plus)
– Easy to maintain
– Good alternative versus steel, aluminium and stainless steel
The Ministry of Food Processing Industry, NHB and National Centre for Cold Chain Development (NCCD) are providing elaborate subsidies for reefer transportation with 35%. Presently only 3.5% of perishable goods are transported in reefer trucks while 75% are transported in China and 85% in the US.
Can you share details on your product program and as to how you approach the organised/unorganised sectors?
We provide many different qualities of FRP/GRP as per customer’s requirement and their special process of manufacturing GRP sandwich panel technology.
Advantages of GRP compared to Steel
Overview product advantages
• Resistant to chemicals
• GRP and the gel coat layer are solid coloured compared to painting
• Printing and painting of the GRP is possible
• Easy to handle in the process (sawing, drilling, jet cutting …)
• Compared to the sharpness of the edges of steel the risk of injury (cutting) with GRP is lower
• High chunking resistance (screws, rivets)
• No breaks or buckling while processing
• Much better thermal insulation than steel
• GRP has a better sound reduction index than steel sheets
• Better environmental balance than with many other materials
• GRP is (without any special additives) an insulator
• GRP transfers forces only remote
• Repairing possibilities of damages and scratches
• Consistent quality through continuous production process
• Production width of GRP up to 3.20m!
• Qualified for a usage in the food industry
• Moisture resistant
Similarly GRP has a lot of advantages over aluminium. We mostly sell to the organised market and the growth rate in the sector seems to be around 20% annually.
How do you support your customers in their body building activity?
We are supporting the market with technological help along with finding partners to bring in technological know-how transfer details on GRP sandwich panel manufacturing highlighting the various possibilities to make good panels.
Market size for reefers in India and future demand – your views?
It seems that there are around 8000 – 10000 reefer vehicles presently in India. The immediate requirement seems to be around 30000 vehicles. Many companies are presently inquiring about FRP/GRP technologies, we are providing all the support.
How do you work with vehicle OEMs and direct supplies?
With OEM’s we are sharing all relevant technical data including samples and presentations. They are in touch with our customers as their vendors to supply them the reefer bodies.
Your thoughts on the important growth drivers for the reefer segment in India?
Two factors are important:
– Energy (fuel) saving due to light weight of FRP/GRP. One square meter of steel weighs 7.8 kg while one square meter of FRP weighs app 2 kg. Therefore diesel is saved due to light weight construction
– Food Safety due to bacteria resistance: Wherever food and pharmaceuticals are transported bacteria resistant interior walls of reefer trucks support the development of high quality cold chain.
Being a global player, what are your views on reefer semi-trailers for long haul? Can you outline some trends in the international logistics sector?
I cannot comment on the types of vehicles as this is for our customers to say. There seems to be a trend towards light weight delivery vans on city levels too.
In foreign countries transport of food and pharmaceuticals in light weight FRP truck bodies made of sandwich construction with composite material is the standard. For example Sri Lanka is advanced in using FRP truck bodies compared to India.
Hwasung Thermo
Hwasung Thermo Co. Ltd., established in 1977 as Korea’s first truck refrigeration system maker, is devoted to the technical innovation of refrigeration for truck transportation. Mr. Shatrughan Kumar, Managing Director, Trans ACNR (India Office of Hwasung Thermo), New Delhi, talks about developments at his company and in the segment.
Tell us about your business operations, customer tech support, etc.Excerpts:
Hwasung Thermo is largest manufacturer of Truck refrigerator in Asia with annual production capacity of 25000 units. We started importing and distribution in 2003. With current Indian market size, the investment to set up manufacturing does not justify. Moreover currently there is nil custom duty on truck refrigerator. Hwasung Thermo offers complete range of Refrigerator for primary and secondary distribution. TRANS ACNR’s country wide service network and readily available spare parts at affordable prices makes good buying sense while opting for Hwasung Thermo reefer units.
How has the reefer market evolved over the year in India?
The Truck refrigerator penetration is still at very nascent stage. There has been lot of talks on potential of cold chain in India but on ground nothing much has been done. Our role has been crucial in regulating and rationalising the cost of Truck Refrigerator in India which is critical for the growth of the market. It is important to make the Cold Chain Projects commercially viable, making it a necessity for all perishable comodities rather than being used only for premium products.
You say refrigeration unit forms the heart of the reefer – please elaborate.
Truck refrigerator is designed to maintain the pre-cooled cargo inside an insulated container having a thermal conductivity equal to or less 0.3 watt/m2 deg C. It is always a good investment in buying quality insulated container having fluted channels which enhances air-circulation. The best way of marking a quality container is to measure the retention temperature once the reefer unit has been shut down. A temperature rise of 8 to 10 deg C in an hour for an empty load container from deep freeze temperatures ( -) 25 deg C. at ambients of 38 deg C is well within the acceptable range. Hwasung Thermo has in-house manufacturing facility for almost all components. Not only does our warranty come with standard one year warranty, they also stand the back up of pan India 5 years warranty, including spares, labor as well as consumables, should any of our customer desire such.
What is the market size of reefer and what is its percentage in the total market?
The reefer market size is 2000 to 2500 units per annum, which means hardly 1.5% of total truck population is refrigerated. It can grow up to 10% in the next five to seven years.
S.P. Mani & Mohan Dairy
S.P. Mani & Mohan Dairy (India) Pvt. Ltd. (SPMD), Erode, T.N., an ISO 9001 certified company is one of the leading manufacturers & suppliers of milk and milk products under the popular ‘Amirthaa’ brand. We had an exclusive interaction with Mr. Dhayalan Mohanasundaram, Managing Director, and Mr. K. Ganesh, President – Business Development.
Can you begin by giving us a background on SPMD operations and the milk flow route from farmer to consumer?Excerpts:
SPMD was started as a partnership firm by Mr. R. Mohanasundaram and Mr. S.P. Loganathan during 1984 in the milk supply domain. It has grown since then to become one of the leading suppliers of milk and dairy products in T.N., Pondicherry and parts of Kerala. The main products are milk pouches in various denominations depending on the fat content plus pouch packed curd and allied products under the brand name ‘Amirthaa’.
The company has 4 own milk chilling centres and around 600 village level collection points; from the collections centres, milk in cans is transported by small vehicles to the chilling centres. From the chilling centres the milk at 2-4 deg C is transported by insulated SS tankers to the mother dairy in Erode. At the dairy, the milk is processed, packed in pouches and transported by reefer trucks to the distributors in various places. It has a milk processing capacity of 2 lakh litres per day; and typically around 1.5 lakh litres are despatched every day to the consumers.
Kindly share details on your vehicle fleet for the cold chain.
We have totally 70 reefer vehicles doing both day and night shift operations and 5 insulated tankers to transport milk and milk products. Insulated tankers carry the milk from the chilling centres to the mother dairy and typically the distances are max around 100 km. We collect milk within 100 km radius and the chilling centres located strategically to cover the collection places. The insulated SS tankers typically take about 2 hrs max to reach the mother dairy with hardly any temperature drop. We use steel body PUF insulated reefers with SS lined inner chamber to transport the milk pouches. Fleet comprises right from 4 ton to 25 ton GVW vehicles of all makes; vehicles in the mid-segment, viz., 4 ton to 9 ton are more as compared to 25 ton multi-axle type. All our vehicles are fitted with Hwasung refrigeration unit and the temp of the product maintained at not more than 4 deg C thro’ the transport chain to the distributor. Distribution operations are managed by our transport dept. that has a dedicated staff and workshop to attend to service needs.
What challenges do you face in the transport operations? What actions have you initiated to tackle them?
Milk and milk products demand keeps changing and also we have seasonal demands due to marriages and other functions. To respond to these scenarios, we have a dedicated call centre at our dairy that takes of the orders from dealers on a dynamic basis to scale-up or down the production. Drivers have the route map for deliveries and hence the loading/unloading sequence is accordingly carried out. Temperatures are monitored by them and they are trained well in handling the products. The real challenges are in the road conditions in the rural side and retention of drivers in our organisation. While the road conditions are improving, driver retention becomes critical as many opportunities are opening for them with colleges and schools taking them readily with better remunerations – it is a supply and demand situation. All the vehicles are owned by us and drivers our employees and we attend to their grievances, issues and requirements to keep them motivated and under our fold.
In transit, at toll booths, we generally have a priority because of short shelf life perishable products we carry and do not face much of a problem. As regards vehicle or reefer equipment problems en route, we have a team that can attend to the same fast. Routine maintenance checks are done at our workshop and the same eliminates most of the road issues; and trained technicians can rush to attend the difficulties if en route problems arise. Alternatively we have our other passing vehicles in the route or nearby locations and the products can also be shifted. These types are few in nature and we have been able to overcome such challenges without much difficulties.
What Govt. incentives and steps do you think are needed to improve cold chain transport in the country?
Success of cold chain depends upon both infrastructure and transport functioning smoothly. Quality power is essential for chilling centres and dairies and in this regard, Govt. initiatives are definitely needed to improve the situation; though back-up power is available, it adds on to the operational costs. Traffic congestion has become a problem; what appeared to be a 4 lane highway some time back today has become congested and movement at many sections very slow; again efforts need to alleviate this ground reality.
From our end, we are planning hub and spoke model in the primary distribution to overcome the above congestion issues. Also with more dealers joining Amirthaa family, distribution routes are increasing and hence this solution will be implemented, viz., our own product collection centre at the hub to redistribute to the desired routes as per needs. We are also recommending our dealers with sub-dealers to adopt the hub and spoke model to effectively meet the demand on time and penetrate the fast growing rural market.
Clinisafe
Clinisafe Courier and Logistics, Bangalore, is one of the fast growing logistics company providing dedicated services to the biopharmaceutical industry, fulfilling a key role in the line of supply chain management for research and drug development. Mr. Raghavan P.G., Chairman & Managing Director, shares his segment status.
Excerpts:
Please brief us your company’s operational profile.
We are Pharmaceutical cold chain logistics provider with Top most rated and vision oriented Temperature controlled logistics movements company with strong presence in global markets for pharmaceuticals & finished drugs movements – Monitoring and Establishing Global contacts towards growth of hassle free Imports and Exports into India, growing the relationship towards economic and affordable temperature control solutions for commercial and non-commercial shipments to and fro into Pharmaceutical exports markets and assisting frontline operations and structure to enable new ideas into developing tier one and tier two cities for faster connections & express deliveries of temperature sensitive products.
Transport fleet size: 15 vehicles all owned, 5 trucks leased. Operations started in the year 2010. The Growth has been challenging at 40% every year and the industry expanding in domestic horizons.
How strong is your cold chain infrastructure?
We have our own corporate office in Bangalore and regional offices in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Mumbai, Delhi. We operate in lease cold chain warehouse from our trusted partners, since trucks are used only for pharmaceutical transportation, the cold chain facility warehouses will be of clients and we need to provide transportation most of time. Service and major issues of trucks are taken care by AMC contracts of Respective trucks and their companies. We have 18 drivers and 12 office staffs in managerial and Supervisor positions through the country. Yes we work with major pharma based courier & logistics companies through international location as our partners. (like Fedex, DHL & Fischer Express Cargo, PHSE, Optimize and few more).
What are your thoughts on different customer segments, retention and USPs to stay ahead of competition?
All major pharmaceuticals companies handling API (Active Pharma Ingredients) through the country are our customers. We have marketing done through our professional team, and we have branding as our major showcase to get clients via web enquires and since the industry is very small and budding, we get reference through our quality work and word to mouth advertising. Our USP is to provide the market with clean, contamination free imported containers fitted trucks with much more temperature adherence, with direct access GPS controlled monitoring facility to all our clients.
Your observations on cold chain logistics services market size, volume and growth please.
The logistics market for cold chain industry is of approx 600 crores and expanding, the business volume is much in terms of ratio: Food 60% pharmaceutical: 40%. Business was down as an entrant last 5 years below, challenging was the task when finance to procure fleet to cater to the industry, chassis of any truck make will get financed but not the expensive components like refrigeration unit and Puff (poly urethane filler) body for container to mount on trucks. But today the market scenario has changed and the industry is slowly looking at growth potential with many financial institutions coming forward to finance ready built reefer trucks as per client needs as complete package.
What according to you are the major constraints and challenges in this domain?
Chassis of any truck make will get financed but not the expensive components like refrigeration unit and Puff (poly urethane filler) body for container to mount on trucks. But today the market scenario has changed and the industry is slowly looking at growth potential with many financial institutions coming forward to finance ready built reefer trucks as per client needs as complete package.
Need more support from Government bodies on tax part, as already all logistic owners are suffering from heavy toll taxes, State to State permit collections are priced randomly, instead of one country one tax like global operations, our country has multiple taxes on logistics and transportation like, road taxes, State taxes, AIP (All India Permit taxes) and inter-State permits. Also to manufacture and get a new refrigerated truck moving, there are number of taxes like VAT, CST and Sales Tax on Reefer Machine and Truck Chassis & body manufacturing, where if government provides few subsides can bring down the burden of cost for logistics from small to big entrepreneurs looking at a vision to grow the industry further.
Your take on technology tools like GPS & data loggers?
All trucks are equipped with modern GPS tracking units with latest being the track facility from in house to moving truck, showing parameters like temperature, destination points, speed, fuel consumption and reach oriented target goals. Also we have temperature loggers as additional safety device to monitor temperature for products inside the containers.
As a logistics company, the challenging task goes in designing the routes of travel for each truck leaving the facility from pick-up to destination, in eventuality of any break down the puff containers hold good the required temperature up to 4-6 hours, this lead time is what communicated between our trained drivers and the ground handling staff to place an spare truck for transfer and shifting of material/product immediately. The routes of truck as designed in carefully to pass through major towns and cities till destination, wherein a breakdown occurs where the material can be transferred to nearest truck in any city or cold room facility immediately till spare options are available.
Sub Zero
Sub Zero Insulation Technologies is bringing forward new-age insulated truck bodies in technical collaboration with Isi Yogev Industries, Israel. Isi Yogev is the only authorized supplier to the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). Mr. Deep Khira, CEO, Sub Zero Insulation Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Pune, shares his observations about the domain.
Excerpts:
How does Sub Zero go about with its reefer building/integration program?
Reefer body building is highly customised, we understand our clients requirements thoroughly and accordingly design boxes. We also work closely with cooling unit suppliers to ensure that the required temperature is maintained well and the product reaches from A to B location without any problems. Sizes range from 8’ to 40’ and temperature requirements also vary from -25 deg to +15 deg. We are seeing an increased demand for pick up models 8’ boxes for transportation within cities. Popular sizes would be 14’ and 20’, these are preffered by TPL companies.
Explain the salient tech features and USPs of your reefers.
Our efforts are to make light weight reefers without compromising on strength. We design boxes eliminating any thermal bridges. Our floor is competely sealed, we never screw anything in to the floor. The minute water starts to seep into reefer box floor, it starts to get spoilt and can create bacteria too! We recommend GRP boxes but are not limited to this, we have the flexibility to offer steel boxes as well. Some customers prefer Stainless Steel inside, we can provide that too. For the insulation material we are using PUF for most customers as this is the best material one can use in terms of insulation properties.
Take us through the other processes such as body-building / integration of sub-assemblies, quality checks, testing, etc.
Our factory is well organised and laid out according to process flow from panel production to final assembly and integration with chassis. We have a fabrication team to prepare floors and chassis subframes. Doors are prepared seperately and then fitted to the box. After fitment of the cooling unit, we test the box by pulling temperature down to desired value. We also check our boxes for any leakages, particularly the doors. We have a solid team of engineers from India and from Israel checking all stages of each Sub Zero project thoroughly. Quality must come first if we want to establish ourselves as No.1 in the market. We have supplied reefers for all applications: Dairy, Ice Cream, Pharma, Horticulture, Frozen Foods, etc. Customer demands help us learn & improve, there has been nothing as such that we have been unable to provide to our clients.
What is your reefer production capacity and who are your major customers?
We have a production capacity of 500+ boxes in a year and can easily scale up if required. Our major customers are Chitale Dairy, Swift Cold Chain, Schedulers Logistics, Monginis, Mapro Foods, Venky’s, Protrans Supply Chain and many more. At the moment we are still very young, our target is customer satisfaction through quality and timely deliveries. We are making good progress and expanding our client base rapidly.
How do you work with OEMs and direct supplies to the market?
From the vehicle OEMs I believe Ashok Leyland is the only one really offering a complete package reefer truck. The market size is not big enough to make the OEMs jump. Also there is a certain amount of customization which is not easy for OEMs. Having said that, they are all showing interest as this is a fast growing segment. I believe OEMs will start to offer complete solutions for reefers sooner rather than later.
We are in discussion with a leading vehicle OEM to develop a light weight, high quality reefer box on their pick up chassis. It could be a very good product if everything goes as planned.
Your views on real-time monitoring of temperatures and vehicle movement?
Due to the amount of losses made through cargo getting damaged, people have become a lot more concious towards temperature monitoring. With the advancements in technology in telematics, it has become very easy for companies to monitor and log cargo movement and temperature. We always encourage our customers to track their temperature and give us feedback. This way we can show how we are better than the competition and if there are any problems then we can learn from the same and improve. With the advancement in technology, testing procedures will only get more stringent and in a few years companies may be mapping the entire box via sensors to create a thermal plot to check performance. This is required by ATP standards in Europe.
How do you see the future for reefer semi-trailers in India?
We are discussing with one of the largest agri businesses in the country to develop a reefer semi trailer for them. This will be a very special project where we will ripen the bananas inside during transit from Maharasthra to the north of the country. The demand for reefer semi trailers is quite limited at the moment and this will be driven through development of road infrastructure.
Thermo King
Thermo King, a brand of Ingersoll Rand, leads the world in manufacturing and innovating transport temperature control systems for a variety of mobile applications, including trailers, truck bodies, buses, shipboard containers and rail cars. Mr. Sudarshan S. Ananth, Territory Vice President and Business Head – HVAC & Transport, India Climate Business Unit, Ingersoll Rand, Bangalore, provides his domain insights.
Kindly outline Thermo King’s manufacturing and business operations in India.Excerpts:
Thermo King as brand has been present in India since over 2 decades serving 100’s of customer in Reefer truck and HVAC bus segments. We serve our customer with dedicated sales resources working closely with wide range of sales and service dealers who are trained to deliver best in class service to Thermo King customers. Most of our dealers have been with us since inception and command the position of “a trusted support” to our customers. We have been able to address the expanding refrigeration truck reach of our customers with “service along the route concept” with a dedicated back office application engineering team and 24*7 customer call center support team at Bangalore.
Being a global corporation, we leverage scale and productivity of our manufacturing across several manufacturing setup spread over many countries. The advantage in this approach is we get consistently reliable and world class products at optimum pricing for our customers. Our India footprint is many decades old with our Naroda facility which makes products for Ingersoll Rand Air compressors as well was making a few Thermo King products. We started a small assembly operation Chennai in 2013 to assemble some of Truck reefer and Bus air-conditioners products. What we make here is small range compared to our overall portfolio of products in Thermo King and supplement it with imports rest from our global footprint for our Indian Customers.
Please share details on your product offering and their USPs.
Thermo King offers both vehicle powered, self-powered and electric powered products which are designed to cater to every need of Indian customers
• Vehicle powered products (also called as VP Series) have special features making it compatible with low engine power vehicles, No vehicle modification required with minimum maintenance cost.
• Self-powered products, (popularly called as T Series), consume low fuel than competing products, helps reduce emissions & waste, have lower life cycle cost, reliable at various duty conditions and easy to maintain. The range is with versatile capacity that caters to customer requirement.
• Marine, trailer and rail refrigeration solutions under SLX and precedent series is one of the unique products in the Industry and is a benchmark product in its category. It optimum cooling at lower cost of ownership with superior reliability factors like uptime, fine temperature control and remote diagnostics.
• Cold Cube containers, are self-contained electric powered , are specifically designed for transport refrigeration will be available in 6 different options and capacity ranging 140L, 330L, & 915L. This unique product will give flexibility to customers to use it in multiple vehicles. Unique value proposition of these products are that there is no need to modify the vehicle body to accommodate these units.. This solution will also bring revolution to last mile distribution and in coming days will be one of the popular which support to various needs of customer
Our long standing value of reliability, higher performance and best in class efficiency makes these products a first choice of preference with users and customer.
How has the reefer market grown over the last few years?
Reefer market is constantly growing and has evolved over past years aligned to changing demographic, socio economic and urbanisation pattern in India. We have seen increase in infrastructure for cold chain industry. Various Government schemes support setting up of cold storages and distribution centers promote usage of refrigerated transportation. Growth seen in 1st mile pick up of fresh perishable produce and last mile distribution of fresh and processed foods is key growth driver in this segment. India is still to see evolved cold chain logistics distribution system of developed market owing largely to road infrastructure and its associated cost but we are seeing signs of that happening over next decade.
Thermo King’s refrigeration systems with single and multi-temperature capability ensure reliable performance while delivering industry leading fuel efficiency for transporters. Thermo King offers range of products which supports the cold chain market, very soon our innovative and unique product – cold cube will be launched in India.
We are privileged to hold a preferred supplier position with our customers in India market and our status in India is aligned with our global vision to be a vendor of choice for our users and end customers. Our innovation and our product performance gives us an edge.
What is the role of the chassis sub-systems in supporting the refrigeration unit operations?
Not really. Truck/chassis sub-systems don’t play a role in supporting the refrigeration unit operations. Currently, controls provided by OEM are more for vehicle operation and not designed for refrigeration. Hence, there is opportunity to synchronize between controls and telematics but it is still in evolving stage. Thermo King is working closely with logistics operator to deliver on Telematics.
DIAB
The DIAB Group of Sweden provides a wide range of core materials for use in sandwich composites. Each material provides specific characteristics suitable in various conditions. We spoke to Mr. Dattaraj Nachnolkar, Technical Sales & Development Manager, DIAB Core Materials Pvt. Ltd., Chennai, for details.
Can you give us a brief background on DIAB’s business operations in India?Excerpts:
DIAB started operations in India from 2007. We found that the general awareness about composites and sandwich technology varies between different segments of market and Industry. In the reefer container production, it was a challenge to introduce new technology due to the short term outlook and resistance to change mainly by the players in the unorganised sector which dominate the market. DIAB had the initial success with NSRR body builders based in Chennai. NSRR’s vision, growth strategy and understanding about the future of the reefer technology helped in quick acceptance of sandwich technology using DIAB structural foam cores as the material of the future.
DIAB hopes to replicate this success with other major Reefer container producers who are also showing interest in the development of new generation reefer containers.
DIAB currently has 6 manufacturing facilities around the world and with a new additional plant in China expected to come on stream within next 18 months, we will be adding considerable production capacity to meet future demands.
Please outline your product program details, salient tech features and specs.
The composite containers manufactured at NSRR using DIAB’s structural foam core are stronger than the conventional MS containers available in the market. The containers are easy to maintain and repair any damage to the container can be fixed within 3 to 7 days. The salient features comprise of various advantages to the buyer – these containers are 30% lighter than the conventional MS body containers offering an increased payload and better tyre life. This also increases the vehicle mileage and reduces the maintenance cost on the vehicle thus leading to a lower Total Cost of Ownership.
What are your comments on the battle between the unorganised and organised sector in this domain?
Unorganised sector is mainly limited to the small scale investors and low capital business sector where transportation is involved. The disadvantage of this sector is it can only offer to a very small customer base and has limitation to its product. The sector can only manufacture or repair the works on conventional containers. The organised sector can manufacture reefer containers as the process involves customisation, product design, product testing and standardisation. The organised sector is able to cater for the market of different sizes. They provide specific solutions for both individuals and OEM’s. The manufactured containers have gone rigorous hours of testing and been proven. New products are innovated and customisation of the container plays a major role. The organised sector invests more on the R&D to provide the perfect solution to its end customer. Jigs and fixtures are used in manufacturing; hence there aren’t any errors in the body building process.
To help small companies in the unorganised sector move up the technology ladder, DIAB works closely at the initial stage itself helping customers selecting the right core materials for a cost effective solution. Through Composites Consulting Group (CCG), a fully owned DIAB Group company, we offer design services as well as training on the shop floor on the best practises and resin infusion process so that the high quality of the product is maintained and achieve low TCO.
How do you support your customers in their body building activity?
As in most other applications, DIAB works very closely with the manufacturer right from the beginning helping them to select the right core materials for the laminate construction. Our engineers with vast knowledge on the laminate construction explore different combinations of materials and processes that give the optimum solution. It is important to note that there is no standard solution and every product (read reefer container) can be customised to meet the performance criteria as desired by a particular manufacturer which includes container weight target, structural strength or impact resistance (in case of an accident), min. temperature, etc. Based on the requirements, along with the manufacturer’s designers an optimum solution is worked out. A simple example being with better insulation properties the AC tonnage can be reduced which has direct impact on the weight of the unit as well as the overall costs (a smaller AC unit being sufficient)
As mentioned above, through Composites Consulting Group (CCG), we offer full engineering support in structural design including FEA analysis.
DIABs range of foams has been globally used in varied environmental conditions – cold mountains to hot deserts and have delivered excellent performance over decades. The structural and thermal properties depend on the design of the laminate which requires selection of right reinforcements as well as process to derive the optimum results. DIAB works in close association with the design engineers so as to offer the most suitable solution meeting the performance requirements.
Can you explain your working arrangement with vehicle OEMs?
DIAB India supports its customers through the sales office based in Chennai. Currently all the sales are handled directly. However, we are open to explore other options to service the customer as we grow in future.
Milky Mist Dairy
Milky Mist Dairy Food Pvt Ltd., Chittode, T.N manufactures & markets premium quality dairy products under the brand ‘Milky Mist’. Mr. Sathish Kumar.T, Managing Director, shares his viewpoints about various developments.
Excerpts:
Take us through Milky Mist’s journey in becoming a premium and reputed brand in the field.
The journey started in 1991 when I joined my father to assist him in the conventional milk distribution business. Couple of years down the line taking market inputs, I ventured into making paneer in a small way. Slowly the business began to grow for paneer and from 1995, we started concentrating only on paneer and expanded in stages to various value added dairy products. After understanding the Customer requirements and demands, the products and transport methodology were aligned to ensure that, the customer gets the best quality product in factory fresh state, thanks to the reefer route totally followed for both primary and secondary distribution.
Some of the products manufactured include fresh Paneer, various grades of cheese including Mozzarella & Cheddar, Fresh Cream, Butter, Ghee, Curd and Yoghurt. Today, we are the largest manufacturer of fresh paneer and cheese in south India, handling around 2.5 lakh litres milk per day and producing over 2000 tons of dairy products a month-a feat matched by few in India.
Please share details of your reefer fleet and your approach towards cold chain transport.
We are into perishable product business and if the product does not transported through the cold chain route, quality deterioration is swift. Having understood this thro’ trial and error, we have completely switched over to reefer route. We started with Hwasung and now have Thermo King Refrigeration units in all our reefers. We have 30 reefers from 3 ton pick-up to 31 ton 12 wheel trucks.
Apart from the above, we utilise insulated Stainless Steel tankers for transporting milk at 2-4 deg C from our own chilling centres. We procure milk directly from the farmers at our collection centres and transport it to chilling centres.
All the reefers are owned by us and we deliver the dairy products to our dealers through the reefers. We have data loggers and GPS fitted in all the vehicles for dynamic monitoring of vehicle movements and product temperatures.
Tell us about your dealer network and secondary distribution approach.
After having understood the dramatic improvement in product quality thro’ the reefer route in the primary distribution, we knew that all our efforts would be futile if the reefer route is not followed in the secondary distribution. Initially dealers were not willing to invest on reefer equipment and chassis and to overcome this issue, we provided the reefer equipment from our end free of cost and the dealer had to invest only on the chassis part; and as in the primary distribution, the equipment carried Milky Mist logo and product images on the sides – this has indeed become our brand ambassador on wheels.
The efforts have paid off and a dealer doing about Rs.6 lakhs per moth saw his sales zoom to Rs.60 lakhs in the same period; and we now insist that all our dealers must have reefers for deliveries to stores. We have also ensured that the cold chain remains continuous till the product is sold to customer by placing our own chillers at retail outlets free of cost.
The culmination in our dedicated reefer approach in cold chain transport from factory to fork has been in getting the adulatory messages and compliments from the satisfied consumers about the quality of our products. Once the product quality and timely service are addressed, growth will automatically happen.
Today Milky Mist dealership family has expanded to 800 members and we cover all the southern states. To penetrate the interior markets, even if the towns are located 500 to 600 km away from our factory, we deploy our own reefer. In the initial stages it will be an LCV reefer and as and when the market picks up, higher tonnage reefers will be deployed. This way we ensure that customer always gets the best quality product and we also optimise our distribution costs.
Can you share your views on reefer fleet maintenance, driver issues and going pan-India?
We have understood that a proud and satisfied driver is the key to effective transportation of our perishable products. We ensure that the reefers are maintained in top class condition and keep changing the vehicles to the upgraded version periodically. The drivers in our fold get all the benefits due to them and retention rate is high compared to market situations. We have started following 2 drivers per trip in long haul so that they get the desired rest during the trip. We believe in routine maintenance and relatively new fleet to minimise breakdown issues en route.
Tell us about your expansion plans.
We are unable expand our marketing reach today because of production constraints at our current production facility. So we are in the process of setting up a new greenfield project with state-of-the art automated machinery near Erode. Once it becomes operational, we will look at the pan-India scene.
Optiplan
Optiplan GmbH, Germany, is one of the leading manufacturers of glass fibre reinforced plastics (GRP) in sheet or coil form. For well over 50 years our POLYDET brand has been the synonym for quality, reliability and innovation worldwide. The company is actively following the developments in the Indian market. Mr. Robert Garbe, Associate Sales Director, shares his observations.
Excerpts:
Please share some background info on Optiplan and its product range.
Optiplan is a manufacturer of premium GRP/fiberglass flat sheets. Our facesheet products are designed and engineered for reefer-truck sidewall-roof-bulkhead, and flooring composite sandwich-panels. Optionally to be reinforced with high-impact glass woven roving.
• Gelcoat coating to enhance surface sealing, UV resistance, hygiene-properties
• Food safety guaranteed
• Benefits over metallic face sheets such as steel, mild steel:
• No corrosion • Easy reparability • Robust • Lighter in weight • Easy to process • Thermal conductivity 200 times lower
Optiplan just recently commissioned a new, state of the art, large volume continuous production line to cater for increased demand of our global customer base as well as from new markets.
In total we have 4 fully automated production lines at our site in Germany, manufacturing a large variety of different products for different applications.
We supply customers on all continents with premium quality German made products.
More multimillion Euro investments are in the pipeline to emphasize Optiplan’s position as one of the leading GRP flatsheet manufacturers in the world.
Your observations on unorganised vs. organised sector in markets like India?
When approaching potential users of our products we discuss in detail different ways and options, employing GRP. Having longtime experience in many different markets around the world, we are more than aware of the challenges and can offer technical assistance and solutions for setting up panel-manufacturing facilities according to requirements and capabilities of the individual potential customer.
How do you engage with customers in their body-building activity? What do you see as growth drivers for reefers in the Indian market?
We continue to provide our customers with technical support either direct or liaising with industry experts for particular questions. We are ISO accredited for well over 10 years, product quality and product consistency is of paramount importance to us and basis of our reputation built in over 60 years of company history in this field.
We provide all commonly acknowledged certificates along with our products.
Drivers to enhance and streamline the local Indian cold-chain-infrastructure will in our view be initially larger food distributors, retailers, fast-food chains, large scale food-processors, etc., which are particularly sensitive and dependent on a reliable logistics infrastructure and consistency in terms of timing and product-quality.
Your comments on reefer semi-trailers for long haul and International logistics trends?
General trends go for light-weight solutions to reduce operating costs by saving fuel and maintenance expenses, also to cater for electric vehicles. The usage of composite material solutions will play an important part also in the sector of commercial vehicle manufacturing and Optiplan is at the forefront of providing innovative products and solutions in their field.
In Europe weight-saving is one of the prominent topics as well as longer units (up to 25m length) for long-haul applications are being tested on the roads. For the latter, we don’t see this happening in India in short-term.
