Steelbird International Calls Industry To Increase Exports To Tackle Slowdown

Steelbird International -- automotive component and tire manufacturer -- plans to increase its footprints in the market. Talking about the plans to achieve the targets, the company said that it is going to focus more on the diverse markets and take advantage of the US-China trade war. The company aims to reach 30,000 retail touchpoints for tyres to 30,000 from the current 3,000 by FY21. "We are working aggressively towards becoming one of the top five tyre manufacturers in the country by 2023," said Manav Kapur, Executive Director, Steelbird International.

Showing concern about the dip in sales, Kapur said, "The industry has to increase its exports to untapped markets and give competition to Chinese products in international markets. Indian products are preferred by many clients outside India and we should find the ways through which we can give competition to Chinese in pricing factors also. In international market we are facing cost competition from China but then there are markets where Indian products are preferred over others such as Latin America. Good business is already being done in markets of North America and Europe. The industry should focus more on markets that already have a good perception of Indian products."

It is currently growing at a CAGR of 22.7 per cent and the company is also working aggressively to augment its exports and garner around one-third of its revenue from that segment in three or four years, up from the current 10 per cent.