This month Lukatec celebrates a historic achievement: 50 thousand units sold of the Naja Tool, the first product developed by the company when it launched back in 2002. The Naja is a tool designed for the disassembly of tubeless truck tyres.
Lukatec Sells 50,000th Naja Tool
“At that time, there were in Brazil simpler tools for this function, but they were not very efficient. In identifying this need, we saw an opportunity to present to the Brazilian market a product that offers greater functionality, ergonomics, agility and safety. In the United States and Europe there was already superior equipment to Brazil, which served as a reference for the development of the Naja, but we created a completely new engineering, “explained Lucas Möller, director of Lukatec.
According to Möller, one of the key benefits of the Naja is the ability to avoid damaging the beads of tubeless truck tyres, thereby avoiding premature disposal. In addition, the tool has an innovative design, which allows complete disassembly without the need to lift the tyre off the ground. “With existing tools, the operator needed to disassemble the lower bead by lifting the tyre, which is not suitable ergonomically. With the Naja, the operator can work with less effort, with more accessibility and without risk of injuring the back, “he noted.
Approved in the Brazilian market, the Naja entered the North American market in 2010, the largest in the world in equipment for the assembly and disassembly of truck tyres. “Until then, most of the tools of this type sold in the USA were manufactured there. But since 2010, we have had a very significant participation in this market, “explained Möller. “The Naja entered the US market thanks to a partnership with a long-standing American-owned company, a manufacturer of a range of tools for tyre maintenance, and they started to market Lukatec equipment in the US market using their own brand.”
Currently, the United States accounts for 65% of the volume of Najas produced by Lukatec. Each year the tool grows in terms of sales volume, and in 2018 sales surpassed the 50,000-unit mark.
“From the Naja we created the whole Lukatec business model,” said Möller. “Quality, strength and innovation, which are today the pillars of the brand, were forged during the creation of the Naja, and this concept was transferred to our entire product line. We can say that it was a very solid base for Lukatec to get where it eventually arrived with its machines – technologies and innovations in the area of robotics for tyre retreading “, concluded Möller.The Naja entered the US market thanks to a partnership with a long-standing American-owned company, a manufacturer of a range of tools for tyre maintenance, and they started to market Lukatec equipment in the US market using their own brand.”
