Kayel Rubber, part of the Kit Loong Group, is one of the largest rubber compounders in Malaysia and claims a position as the second largest supplier in the precured sector. The company currently exports 60% of its production, primarily to traditional markets such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southern China but also to newer markets such as New Zealand, Australia, Japan and the U.S.A.
According to Export Manager Simon Chan, Kayel is now looking to expand its export presence into other areas and has just begun to focus on Europe, "Our strategy will not be to flood the market with product", says Chan. "Our aim will be to seek out one key customer in each market and to build sound long-term relationships with our partners".
Simon Chan - Export Manager
According to Chan, Kayel's precured tread product has three main selling points - quality, service and price. On the quality front, he points out that Kayel is the only local compounder to use polymer base pre-dispersed chemical in its processing. The company, he says, also makes only one quality level of product, positioning the Kayel brand at a higher price level than many other local suppliers.This, says Chan, is backed up by a comprehensive customer support service. "Most compounders' service stops when the product is delivered", he points out, "but Kayel has a strong support team which conducts audits at customers' premises to make sure the product is being used optimally. Compounds and patterns are also highly application specific, whether they are for trailers, drive axles or for other uses".
This has been highlighted by last year's launch of a new range of light treads.
On the subject of application specific treads for markets outside Asia, Chan points out "we have a range of products to suit all applications and we will use our service to make sure that retreaders are making the best use of our range. We will add to this but, of course, products designed for specific geographical regions will need to be for areas offering such levels which meet our expectations. Kayel's service package is further enhanced by the ability to offer complete turnkey projects, thanks to the machinery expertise of sister company, Newera."
On price Chan points out that Kayel are able to offer economical prices on a global level, despite the brand's relatively high price positioning in Malaysia.
Kayel's rubber manufacturing facility is located in Prai, near Penang, where 100 people are employed. However, in order to cope with the the company's expansion strategy, the plant is currently undergoing a major investment programme, which will see capacity more than double to 12,000 MT per annum this year. The investment includes three new presses scheduled for delivery in September and a new Branbury, to be installed during May.
Source : Retreading Business Magazine - Issue No. 13 2000/2