JOST INDIA COUPLES INNOVATION & QUALITY
Despite the unpredictable CV market, Jost India is firmly on its way to becoming the one stop shop for fifth wheel couplers and trailer products.
Jost India, the 100 percent subsidiary of JOST Werke GmbH, has seen a rapid up tick in the demand for its tractortrailer coupling solutions. ‘Given the signs of recovery in the CV industry, we have been receiving positive response from our customers. We now supply around 2,000 fifth wheel couplings per month,’ says Pradeep GS, who has recently assumed charge as MD of Jost India. In successfully catering to an impressive OEM clientele of the likes of Tata Motors, DICV, Scania India and MAN India, Pradeep expresses optimism about near- term prospects. ‘ We project to sell at least 20,000 couplings during 2014-15, while aiming to clock 30,000 units in 2015- 2016,’ says Pradeep. Jost India is happy to take in these numbers in the cyclical CV industry which has caused a corresponding yo- yo effect in its performance. For instance, during the difficult 2013-14, a moribund CV market permitted Jost India volumes of just about 14,000 fifth wheel couplers. But, this number belies the promising start which Jost had got up to in the Indian market. ‘ Until 2008, we were sole suppliers for Tata Motors. In that year, we sold 30,000 fifth wheel couplers,’ recalls Pradeep. The financial meltdown had not yet arrived and the Indian economy seemed unstoppable as did the CV industry. ‘ We expected to double our sales within 7- 8 years. In fact, we had set up a capacity for 60,000- 70,000 fifth wheel couplings per annum at our Jamshedpur plant,’ recounts Pradeep. Thankfully for Jost India, a diversified product portfolio has provided a measure of stability to its operations. Fifth
wheel couplings still account for the bulk of the company’s India offering. But a family of trailer components like landing gears, kingpins, axles and suspensions – sold under the Rockinger, Tridec and Edbro brands - provide decent market traction.
‘Axle’ rating
‘ The Indian trailer axle and suspensions market may be estimated to lie between 50,00065,000 and 20,000- 25,000 units respectively.’ Given this market position, Jost India aims to deliver 300- 400 axles per month, volumes which, he estimates will propel Jost to the number three position in the market. To pave the way for this expansive market foray, Jost India undertook an extensive survey of the market over a period of two years. As part of this exercise, the company met key trailer builders across the country and studied problems encountered with existing axles in areas like the design, interface, wheel rims and tyres. ‘ We wanted to bring in a serviceability level in our axle product that was on the lines of our fifth wheel coupling. Hence we made interchangeable, axle parts like bearings, brake linings, slack adjusters, wheel studs and nuts. Given the easy availability of these parts, the customer can replace Jost parts with those from another make without prejudice to the axle,’ narrates Pradeep. What is more, Jost India addressed the common complaint of spindle breakage by creating a unique design for the placement of bearings. Conventionally, the axle hub has to be removed when brake linings need to be changed. This activity often disturbs the original factory fitting of the bearings. Keeping this scenario in mind, Jost has come up with an out boarded design for its axles. Under this paradigm, the axle hub is placed initially, post which the brakes go in, followed by the drum. Thus in the event of a brake giving way, the brake drum is
removed, post which the lining is easily changed.
Education and maintenance
Jost India serves the aftermarket through a distribution network consisting of 40 retail outlets and five distributors. The company has been working hard to ensure awareness of its products among end- users, be it its own dealers or even those of a particular OEM. ‘Often, drivers who are ignorant about the working of fifth wheel couplings, approach road side mechanics for servicing. However, the latter are quite often equally unaware of the impact of specific settings and actions,’ says Pradeep. Hence the training sessions focus on educating drivers and mechanics on aspects like the right method of uncoupling, use of the landing gear as well as dismantling of the fifth wheel coupling. ‘ We have a set limits for the servicing of lock jaw, lock bar, rubber bushes, wearing ring on the fifth wheel coupling and other components. In India, the tractor and trailer are scarcely uncoupled for up to a year. But, fifth wheel couplings need to be greased every 3,000- 5,000 km. Furthermore, they need to be dismantled at intervals of 50,000- 70,000 km to allow checks for wear and tear as well as diesel washes,’ says Pradeep. He underlines that inadequate maintenance can result in the couplers being damaged within three lakh km. Till date, Jost has conducted around 250 training sessions across India. Among other locations, the sessions have been conducted in Tata Authorised Service (TAS) stations across Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal and Assam. Going forward, ‘we plan to extend our training activity to service stations of our other OEM customers too,’ informs Pradeep.
Future ready
Jost Werke GmbH has in its kitty, advanced products like Komfort Kupplung Systems (KKS), which allows the coupling or uncoupling of tractor and trailers, via a simple press of a button. Also, through a series of sensors, the Sensorik technology alerts a driver when a coupling is coupled or uncoupled. Another innovative product that Jost has specifically created for the US market is Airtronic. Normally, a small gap is left between the cabin of the prime mover and the trailer to avoid collision during articulation. Thanks to the Airtronic technology, the trailer can be advanced a few inches towards the cabin, resulting in reduced turbulence on long straight stretches.