PROJECT WORK

BY: YESHAM JAIN

BATCH: 2017-2020
ENROLMENT NO: 201701201029
INDEX
 COMPANY’S PROFILE

MRF (Madras Rubber Factory) is India’s No.1 tyre

manufacturing company. It was started in the year 1946 by
K M Mammen Mappillai as a small toy balloon unit. Much later
in November 1960 it ventured into manufacturing of tyres.
The company entered into a technical collaboration with Tire
& Rubber company, USA.

In 1964 MRF established an overseas office at Beirut,

Lebanon to tap the export market. This was amongst India’s
very first efforts on tyre exports. In 1989 the company
collaborated with US–based Hasbro International, the
world’s largest toy maker and launched Funskool India. In the
same year it entered into a pact with Vapocure of Australia
to manufacture polyurethane paint formulations and with
Pirelli for Muscleflex conveyor and elevator belting.

Currently MRF exports tyres to over 65 countries including

America, Europe, Middle East, Japan, and the Pacific region.
It presently has overseas offices in Dubai, Vietnam and
Australia.
 HISTORY

Madras Rubber Factory was started by K. M. Mammen

Mappillai as a toy balloon manufacturing unit in 1946
at Tiruvottiyur, Madras (now Chennai). In 1952, the
company ventured into the manufacture of tread
rubber. Madras Rubber Factory limited was
incorporated as a private company in November 1960
and ventured into manufacture of tyres in partnership
with Mansfield Tire & Rubber company based in Ohio,
United States.The company went public on 1 April 1961
and an office was established in Beirut, Lebanon to
develop the export market in 1964 and its current logo
of the muscleman was born. In 1967, it became the
first Indian company to export tyres to USA.

In 1973, MRF started manufacturing Nylon tyres for

the first time. The Company entered into with a
technical know-how collaboration with B.FGoodrich in
1978. The Mansfield Tire & Rubber Co sold out its
share in 1979 and the name of the company was
changed to MRF Ltd in the year. The company finalized
a technical collaboration agreement with Marangoni
TRS SPA, Italy for the manufacture of pre-cured
tread rubber for retreading industry. MRF tyres
supplied tyres to Maruti 800, India's first modern
small car. In 1989, the company collaborated with
Hasbro International United States, the world's
largest toy maker and launched Funskool India. Also,
they entered into a pact with Vapocure of Australia to
manufacture polyurethane paint formulations and with
Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli for conveyor and
elevator belt manufacture. During the year 2004-05,
the product range of the company expanded with Go-
kart & rally tyres and tyres for two/three wheelers.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

 LEGACY

The MRF story is a truly remarkable one. What

started as a rubber balloon factory with a funding
of Rs.14, 000 way back in the 40’s is now a
multibillion legacy that produces quality tyres
 used all around India & internationally along with
a presence in paints & coats, toys, motorsports
and cricket training.

 ORIGIN

MRF’s origin traces back to the humble shack in

Madras that housed its first makeshift toy
balloon manufacturing unit set up by KM Mammen
Mappillai in 1946. It was not until 1952 when it
changed course and turned to tread rubber
manufacturing. Thus, began its glorious reign as
the undisputed leader in the tyre making industry.

 INTERNATIONAL

By the early 60’s, MRF was exporting its quality

tyres to offices overseas in multiple countries and
soon its presence was known globally in 65
different countries - with tyres rolling out of 8
facilities built across 450 acres, 4000 plus strong
dealer networks and 180 different offices.
 RECOGNITION

MRF is recognized for its drive towards

continuous quality improvement and customer
satisfaction. It has won the JD Power award not
once but 12 times till date. It has also won the
TNS and CAPEXIL awards for being voted as the
most trusted tyre company in India.

 PACE FOUNDATION

MRF shares a passion for quality tyres and fast

cars just as it does for quality cricket and fast
bowlers. It has chosen to associate itself with
some of the world’s best fast bowlers through
‘Pace Foundation’ - An academy that has trained
legends such as Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, RP
Singh, Bret Lee, Shoaib Akhtar, Glenn McGrath
and many more.

 Awards

MRF won the JD Power Award for the record

11th time in 2014. The company has won several
awards and accolades including the All India
 Rubber Industries Association's (AIRIA) award
for 'Highest Export Awards (Auto Tyre
Sector)', 'Top Export Award' from Chemicals &
Allied Products Export Promotion Council
(CAPEXIL) for 2009–10. In 2014, MRF was
ranked 48th among India's most trusted brands
according to the Brand Trust Report, a study
conducted by Trust Research Advisory.

 MRF’S PRESENCE IN INDIA

The company has manufacturing facilities for tyres at

Kottayam in Kerala, Puduchery, Arakonam, Goa and
Tiruchirappalli two plants in Perambalur in Tamil Nadu, Medak
and ankenpally in Telangana has two facilities one recently
opened.[6] The company manufactures toys at its facility in
Goa. The paints and coats are manufactured at two facilities
in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

K.M. MAMMEN
Chairman Managing Director
K.M. MAMMEM

ARUN MAMMEN
Vice Chairman & Managing Director

RAHUL MAMMEN MAPPILLAI

Managing Director

SAMIR THARIYAN MAPPILLAI

Whole Time Director

VARUN MAMMEN
Whole Time Drector
Dr. K.C. MAMMEN
ASHOK JACOB
V. SRIDHAR
VIJAY R. KIRLOSKAR
N. KUMAR
RANJIT 1. JESUDASEN
Dr. SALIM JOSEPH THOMAS
JACOB KURIAN
M. MEYYAPPAN
Dr. CIBI MAMMEN
AMBIKA MAMMEN

Company Secretary
RAVI MANNATH

Auditors
SCA AND ASSOCIATES, Mumbai
MAHESH, VIRENDER & SRIRAM, Hyderabad
 VISION, MISSION &
GOAL
 VISION

The vision of MRF is to emerge as pre-eminent

global players in the field of polymers and make
India a global super power in terms of technology
and life.

 MISSION

The mission of MRF is that zero defect, zero

breakdown, zero accidents, zero pollution, and
there by zero losses with their new performance
standards.

 Goal

The MOTTO of “STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE”

adopted by the institute truly stands testimony
to the commitment, enlightened vision and
foresight exclude by the management of Eastern
Computer Institute in a attempt to establish
 itself as a institute per excellence, a name to
reckon with in future. It is said “A FOCUSED
MIND IS THE SOURCE OF ALL POWER” and
noting epitomizes it better then the philosophy of
EASTERN COMPUTER INSTITUTE.

THE MRF DESIGN PROCESS

The Design process at MRF starts from the

customer - inputs from individual customers are
compiled by marketing and given to Corporate
Technical MRF's R&D and Product Development
Division or vehicle specific requirements are received
from the OE customer.
MRF's team of 300 engineers and scientists gives
MRF its enormous strength in product design.
Requirements received, a team now works on
converting the customer input into a Design Concept.

MRF uses cutting - edge technologies in predictive

testing and design validation before it leaves the
drawing board. These advances have significantly
brought down the time to market for new designs.

Tyres are now handed over to the Vehicle Dynamics

Group, who now validates the design on the vehicle.
These tests are done at the test track in a series of
manoeuvres at various speeds, pushing the tyres to
the limits of its capabilities.

MRF also tests tyres on fleets across the country to

ensure that the tyres have endured successfully all
the types of roads on which our customers travel
daily. Race Tracks and Indian Roads are our
laboratories.

Only after this do we give any tyres to the customer

- all global players manufacturing a global class of
vehicles. MRF has been designing tyres this class of
vehicles for more than a decade now. MRF tyres have
met the demanding requirements of these vehicles,
backed by an R&D team which is completely in-house
and self-reliant.
 MARKETING MIX

PRODUCT:
MRF is one of the leading tyre manufacturers in India.
Following is the product strategy in the marketing mix
offered by MRF:

• MRF Tyres – for two wheelers, 3 wheelers, four

wheelers (passenger vehicles and transport as well)
• Sports equipment – MRF produces cricket bats, pads,
gloves, etc. MRF also has racing sports gear

• Conveyer belt – the conveyer belt it produced itself

called Muscleflex
• Paints and coats – MRF produce’s industrial,
automotive and decorative paints as well

MRF was the first company to ever export tyres to

USA. It also made the tyres for Maruti 800 the iconic
family car in India. MRF also ventured into three-
wheeler tyres and Go-kart and rally tyres in the year
2004.

PRICE:
MRF faces heavy competition in the tyres segment
from Bridgestone, JK Tyres, Apollo Tyres, CEAT, etc.
MRF therefore follows a competitive pricing strategy
in its marketing mix. It sells on the promise of quality
and its expertise in the field of tyres. Still the
margins are high as the entire industry follows mark-
up pricing. Funskool toys are also middle range priced.
MRF sports gear has a premium appeal and thus has
higher prices to its sports gear as the sportsmen
endorsing it are top notch.

PLACE:
MRF has seven plants located in mostly south India.
Around 2500 stores and exports to sixty-five
countries. MRF distributes to factories, agents,
regional centres, dealers, etc. Tyres are mostly sold
to dealers and agents. Direct sales to customers is
less relevant as tyres are a part of an automobile so
mostly the automobile company/ store/ service centre
deals in procuring these tyres. MRF sports gear is
available in many sports store. MRF does not have any
MRF specific stores, given the brand equity and heavy
advertisements it is easy to sell through dealership.

PROMOTION:
MRF has always focused on an aggressive promotional
strategy in its marketing mix. MRF tyres has
sponsored cricket bats for many legendary players like
Sachin Tendulkar, Steve Waugh and Brian Lara. MRF
is endorsed by more leading cricketers like Virat Kohli,
AB de Villers and Shikar Dhawan. Other than celebrity
endorsements, MRF also sponsored the anchored
balloons in IPL 2010 and also in World Cup. MRF has a
Pace Foundation which a training centre for pacers.
Many bowlers that were trained in MRF Pace
Foundation went on to reprent the country in the
national team, some of them are Irfan Pathan, Zaheer
Khan, Munaf Patel, etc. MRF Motor Challenge is a
racing competition. MRF uses media like TV, print,
online, billboards etc for its advertising and
marketing. Hence, this completes the MRF marketing
mix.

SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS:

The strengths of any brand account for the positive

aspects that make the brand what it is today. MRF
being a strong company has utilized their strength to
achieve the position that they are in today. So, let us
see the strengths which are carried by MRF:
 Reaching milestone of Rs 5,000 crores: MRF
was the first company in India, who managed to
reach a level, where the turnover of the company
reached an amount of Rs. 5,000 crores, thus being
named as the number one company when it comes
to the industry of tyres.
 Building a strong network: MRF possess a
network of distribution which is very strong and
developed, for example, the number of dealers in
eastern, western, southern and northern zones is
14, 23, 33 and 27 respectively.
 A large number of manufacturing units: MRF
has a total number of 6 units of manufacturing,
which is distributed in southern India.
 Possessing a powerful exporting market: MRF
holds a powerful and a very good market when it
comes to exporting products, which is done across
65 countries approximately.
 Having a strong portfolio: There is a complete
portfolio which is available with MRF when it
comes to the manufacturing of different tyres
made for different vehicles and their use.
  Brand value: MRF not only consists of a very
strong value for the brand, but it also has the
trust and the faith of the customers.
 Making varieties of tyres: MRF has always taken
different measure to suit themselves with tyres
which can take on different terrain conditions
 Financial condition: MRF stands in a very strong
position in terms of financial condition
 The diversity of the company: MRF is broadly
diverse into three main parts, which are, Funskool,
MRF Racing and MRF Pace Foundation
 Reaching out with strong advertisements: A
company which advertises itself to be a tyre
making company in India, which is eco-friendly in
nature.

WEAKNESSES:

Weaknesses of a brand counter for the downsides and

the hurdles that a brand face along the way. Here are
some of the weaknesses which are possessed by MRF,
despite their very good strengths.
  Lack of volatility: MRF still lacks a lot of
volatility, when it comes to the consideration of
relations based on industries, for example, the
unrest of the labors of MRF.
 Being in a very strong competition: MRF has a lot
of competition in market, which is very intense
and does somewhere effects the good going of
MRF, especially after the presence of some of the
worldly renowned global brands of the industry of
tyres
These said above were the weaknesses which are
possessed by MRF, despite having such good
strengths.

OPPORTUNITIES:

Opportunities are the places where the company has a

scope for improvement which further works for their
image in the future.
 Going through a fast growth: Markets emerging
at a fast rate with the growth in the automobile
industry.
  Maintaining good relations: Having a relatively
good number of tie-ups with certain companies
and maintaining a good B2B market.
 Having a lot of diversity: Possessing a
diversification of concentric and horizontal type.

THREATS:

Threats are something that can harm the company’s

reputation or market value. Unfortunately, even after
being one of the best in tyre companies, there are
some threats which are involved with MRF. These
threats are:

1. Price wars
2. Stiff competition from national and
international brands
3. Cheaper technologies
4. Volatility in prices and availability of raw
material as India’s rubber production is less than
its demand.
5. Government Policies w.r.t export duties, import
duties, tax levied on automobile industries and
economic condition of nation as it determines the
sale of automobiles.
6. Introduction of other transport facilities like
metro, monorails and local trains keeping pollution
hazards caused by combustion of automobile
fuels.
FINANCES