A milestone was achieved yesterday in the manufacture of tyres in Sri Lanka with the official inauguration of a new hi-tech production facility for radial tyres for passenger cars and Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) at CEAT Kelani Holdings, the country’s leading tyre maker.

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa led a team of government ministers to this milestone event. Since 2009, the CEAT Kelani joint venture has invested Rs. 2.5 billion in enhancing capacity, modernising its factory and setting up this new radial plant.

Seamlessly integrated with the existing CEAT Kelani manufacturing complex at Kelaniya, the new radial tyre production facility enables the company to augment its radial tyre building and curing capacity by 70 per cent to 450,000 tyres a year, thereby substituting more than 60 per cent of the country’s imports in this category.

Besides contributing to a substantial saving of foreign exchange, the new plant would also cater to CEAT Kelani’s exports of radial tyres from Sri Lanka. More than a third of current radial tyre production fromthe company’s production facility is exported. Speaking at the event, CEAT Kelani Chairman Chanaka De Silva said the postconflict resurgence of Sri Lanka has provided companies with a fresh incentive to grow, and CEAT Kelani has supported this process very tangibly, by investing in capacity expansion, and enhancing the range and quality of its products. “The new radial tyre production facility that has just been declared open is only part of this commitment,” he said. Elaborating, N. C. Venugopal, Managing Director/CEO of CEAT Kelani Holdings added that the new technology acquisitions for the Radial plant include the latest Bead Apexing Machine, Cap Ply and Cap Strip Machine and improved tyre building machines and curing presses that will enable the company to produce a new grade of high performance radials in all sizes for high end cars.

Additionally, the use of segmented moulds instead of two-piece moulds gives the new radial plant the capability to manufacture high quality block-pattern radial tyres for Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and off-road vehicles as well as key high-end sizes such as the 235/70 R 16, the 195/65 R 15 and the 185/65 R 15. All products that come out of the new radial plant are engineered to provide all-round performance and meet the expectations of the discerning segment of radial tyre users who drive expensive Japanese and European vehicles.The market leader in Sri Lanka in both the radial and commercial tyre segments, CEAT has accounted for nearly 50 per cent of the country’s tyre requirements since the second quarter of 2013-14, contributing to a massive saving of foreign exchange for Sri Lanka through import substitution. The brand currently has market shares of 55per cent for tyres in the Truck/Light Truck category, 31 per cent in radials, 44 per cent in 3-Wheeler, 19 per cent in motorcycle and 73 per cent in the agricultural segments.

Of CEAT Kelani’s total monthly production of 1,450 tons, about 500 tons or a third is exported to markets in South Asia, the Middle East, the African continent and many other countries, and is finding international acceptance.