Ashok Leyland to provide U-Trucks to KPCL

Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland and Krishnapatnam Port Company Limited (KPCL) have recently signed an agreement that facilitates a unique strategic partnership between the two organisations. According to the agreement, Ashok Leyland will provide 85 U-Trucks to KPCL, for all its inter carting operations at the port. While the day-to-day operations will be handled by KPCL, Ashok Leyland will continue to own and maintain the vehicles, as per service levels required by KPCL. “This is probably the first time that such an arrangement is being tried out in the Indian commercial vehicle industry,” said Vinod K. Dasari, Managing Director, Ashok Leyland. “It shows our intent of becoming a complete transport solutions provider for our valued customers like KPCL. We see this association with KPCL as a definite win-win situation,” he added. Anil Yendluri, Chief Executive Officer, Krishnapatnam Port Company Limited said, “In Ashok Leyland, we see a partner with shared values and are confident that we can together make this bold, new arrangement a resounding success. This also marks a very significant step in realizing our ambitions of leadership in the port industry.” With port operations bound to increase, the potential for freight movement is only set to go up. The current arrangement is for the new generation trucks which are on Annual Maintenance Contract and covered by Allcover, Ashok Leyland’s exclusive service product. A driver training facility and service bays have also been set up within the KPCL premises, jointly by the Ashok Leyland and KPCL.