LST Tyre Services, based in Puchong near Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, which specialises in the sales and service of new truck tyres, retread tyres as well as rim fitting, is looking to increase its range of services to local truck fleets by expanding into the area of truck wheel alignment. In order to do this the company has announced it is investing in a brand new Josam CV-Liner wheel aligner. The aim, says company director Lau Seng Thay, is to turn the company into a one stop tyre solutions provider for fleet operators.
LST Tyre Services Delivering in Truck Tyre Market
Lau himself has over 14 years of experience in the tyre service sector. The company was founded by his father in 1980, and over the past 37 years, the company’s customer base, which started with light trucks, has expanded to also cover heavy truck fleet operators from logistics and transportation companies.
To meet the rapidly rising market demands, LST Tyre Services needed more space and decided to move to a new and bigger workshop, which covers an area of 10,000 sq feet and can accommodate four truck service bays. In addition to tyres and rim fitting services, LST Tyre Services also provides a 24 hour tyre breakdown service in Peninsular Malaysia. Within Klang Valley, the company utilises its own fleet of three service trucks and aims to solve customer problems within 60 minutes on the spot. For outstation breakdown services, LST works with its partners to provide the necessary service. LST Tyre Services currently carries major tyre brands such as Hankook, Silverstone and Falken.
Reducing fuel consumption and tyre costs
According to Lau, in Malaysia not many fleet operators realise the importance of wheel alignment. There are not many workshops in the market that can provide proper truck as well as trailer wheel alignment services.
“Wheel alignment is one of the most important elements in tyre servicing,” he says. “It can help to save fuel consumption and tyre costs by 15% and 20% respectively. We have proven these savings with proper reports through testing conducted with a major tyre manufacturer. We have these test reports on hand to provide solid figures to educate our customers.”
This cost of this type of proper truck and trailer wheel alignment service ranges from RM100 (£20) to RM1000 (£200) depending on the number of tyres. As such, Lau accepts that some fleet operators may not be keen to spend on this service even though it can help them to save a lot more in the long run. Therefore, Lau feels that he needs to change the mindset of fleet managers by educating them on the long-term benefits. The most convincing factor is to provide them with cost saving reports.
“In the near future, I strongly believe the demand for this service will continue to increase. We need to let people know the benefits and how the service can help them save costs, especially when current diesel and tyre prices are rising.” The company started the wheel alignment service in December 2016. With 6 tyre service staff, they can currently handle a maximum capacity of 50 trucks per month for this service.
Invest in advanced technology products
Lau points out that the Josam CV-liner wheel alignment equipment is the most expensive in the market. “However,” he adds, “we still invest in Josam due to its advanced technology, user friendly features and excellent technical support. In addition to truck wheel alignment, the system can also align trailer wheels.”
Lau adds that the local distributor of Josam products in Malaysia, is always ready to provide excellent technical support and training.
“Every truck is required to undergo a compulsory test at Puspakom every six months,” he explains. “There are trucks which struggle to pass the wheel alignment test as their alignment was done at workshops which use inaccurate traditional and manual wheel alignment methods. These workshops also do not generate proper printed reports. Josam’s technologically advanced system, which uses cameras, provides very good accuracy, and the results can be printed out to show Puspakom.”
