SAFESURE Runflat Systems: Indigenous Product Innovation, Atmanirbhar Bharat’s Jewel

Defence Industry

New Delhi: Since its establishment in 2008, Hyderabad based Sanathan Allied Industries LLP has developed the SAFESURE Runflat systems which enables customers to continue journeys for extended distances up to 100 km where one or more tyres is deflated or damaged. It helps them withstand hits from semi-automatic rifles, armour-piercing rounds and even blasts from landmines.

The mobility is accomplished by a device that supports treads at sufficient distances from the wheel, ensuring that sidewalls are not damaged by rims. The Runflat is mounted securely on the rim, which is not in contact with the tyre during the normal course of a journey, and so won’t cause it any damage.

As SAFESURE Runflat System Business Head, Vishweshwar Rao Japala said “in 2008 when we started the company, we wanted to give our armed forces a self-dependency which is Made in India and at par with international quality which can be available to our armed forces anytime on demand.”

In a programme by ET Now focusing on Atmanirbhar Bharat in the defence sector that was aired on April 9 and April 10, Japala said “we were the first people who have made the indigenous runflat systems for our main mine protected vehicles and we have subsequently developed more than 300 to 400 variants of armoured vehicles, personnel carriers and also fighting machines.”

The company has developed runflat systems which have been used for wheels of bullet proof vehicles of VIPs, vehicles used in combat and non-combat operations. The product is designed according to the vehicle and can run from 10 km to 100 km on runflat system and the runflat systems can be fitted in vehicles from two tonne to 60 tonne weight.  A 3-D model is used to design according to specification and a robust team ensures that a quality product is delivered.

Starting as a small Indian company, Japala Rao said “we are now supplying to more than 30 countries. Unfortunately government supplies are based upon a contract so it is not that we supply continuously but based on the contract that we supply to different countries.”

However, sounding optimistic, Japala Rao says “now what we see is there is a change in environment and change in global politics. We are going to see a higher acceptance level but this has taken more than ten to twelve years to get to this level. We had initial rejection in 2009 when we had done the first delivery and later on after the rejection, we came up with a unique patent and by applying that patent till date, we have never had a recall of our consignment.”

Safesure ensures that innovation is put together with technology resulting in a reliable and perfect product which has led the company to be one of the leading manufacturers of runflat in India. The company has also acquired US patents and with a robust Research and Development, manufacturing and quality control which has been put under one roof is indeed an Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.