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INFLATE YOUR TYRES WITH<br />
NITROGEN<br />
“ New tyre mileage improved 11.6%. Casing lives<br />
increased from 3-4. Pressure retention improved by<br />
13%.” – Fast ’n Fresh<br />
“ Marked decrease in monthly tyre costs, being below<br />
tyre costs of previous 3 years.” – Kempston Truck Hire<br />
“ Nitrogen has definite advantages over air, and we<br />
recommend the use of Nitrogen.”<br />
– Bridgestone OTP Division<br />
4 • O n e - o n - O n e<br />
Fourteen years later, the ‘Ideas Man’ has been handsomely rewarded<br />
for his foresight and efforts along the way in bringing his concept to<br />
fruition.<br />
We met up with Rob and son Tom Sowry, Sales Director of Nitralife<br />
who chronicled their progress and the phenomenal success of their<br />
enterprise.<br />
Q. Rob, how did you go about developing your idea into a sustainable<br />
business?<br />
I set the wheels in motion by approaching a well respected transport<br />
operation which agreed to try out the nitrogen in tyres concept on<br />
a trial basis on the proviso that they were not expected to pay for it.<br />
The pilot project ran at Unitrans Tulisa Park with the Corobrik fleet (15<br />
trucks) where they were scrapping as many as 30 tyres per month.<br />
Suffice to say I worked day and night to convert the fleet and prove<br />
to all-and-sundry that the concept had merit. Within 8 months the<br />
scrap tyre rate had dipped to below 15 tyres a month, translating into<br />
a remarkable saving of around R30 000.00 per month! Based on this<br />
successful outcome, the transport company – Unitrans – agreed to<br />
rent this first machine.<br />
Next came the gruelling task of convincing my then fellow board<br />
members at Maxiprest to embrace the nitrogen in tyres concept as a<br />
way of differentiating ourselves from our competitors. All but one was<br />
in favour of pursuing it but as we couldn’t reach total consensus, the<br />
opposing party suggested I pursue it single-handed. So I did.<br />
Nitralife began operating in 1996 as a dedicated company whose<br />
core business was the marketing, rental and later, sale of nitrogen tyre<br />
inflation equipment.<br />
Q. On which sector of the market did you first focus your attention?<br />
ROB Mistakenly, we began with the large national trucking fleets, a<br />
somewhat frustrating decision in the end due to all the red tape that<br />
surrounds these big organisations.<br />
In contrast, private transport<br />
companies can make swift decisions and are risking their own money,<br />
so I guess you could say that the private transport sector laid the<br />
foundation for a business which was to grow beyond all expectations.<br />
SaleS repS<br />
needed<br />
NITRALIFE <strong>SA</strong> (PTY) LTD<br />
Tel: + 27 11 706 7884/8 Fax: +27 11 706 5713<br />
Email: info@nitralife.co.za www.nitralife.co.za<br />
Q. How much of your current turnover is made up of private<br />
transport companies?<br />
TOM I would estimate that 80%-90% of our total turnover is made up<br />
of the private transport sector.<br />
Q. When did you first start marketing nitrogen inflation to the retail<br />
sector?<br />
TOM From the beginning but the turning point came in 2002 when