York Transport Equipment, a manufacturer of trailer axles, suspensions, landing gear, fifthwheels, and other components, is now completely owned by Tata Group.
Tata, an automobile and commercial truck manufacturer based in India, bought 51% of York in 2007 and recently acquired the rest of the company. With it, Tata has revealed plans for a new customer service and engineering approach within the Australian trailer market.
“The 2007 acquisition was based to some degree on the needs of our emerging Indian economy,” said Sudhir Deoras, York chairman. “India was in a position where it had to modernize and diversify its transport industry with better performing trailers to cope with increasing industrial demand. We made the decision to drive investment and diversification via acquisition.Axles and suspensions are to a trailer what an Intel processor is to a PC. The relationships that York has established over the last 50 years since the brand’s inception has meant it has become a very important partner to the trailer industry.
“The emergence of India as a serious global economic player has meant that the country’s transport and logistics industries have needed to expand very rapidly. India’s roads and weight management regulations are still playing catch up, making it the perfect playground for testing York.
“Interestingly, as India emerges as a global transport hub, so too are Australian fleets expanding their businesses off-shore. With a global transport strategy, these companies expect the same support from their ancillary suppliers in countries like India, Thailand and China, as they receive in Australia” he said. “Through York they know they are well supported in these regions.”