CEAT to invest Rs 800mn to increase radial capacity

May 31, 2016 (LBO) - CEAT Sri Lanka said it will invest 800 million rupees over the next 12 months to expand its radial tyre manufacturing capacity in the country to supply growing demand. “The investment would increase radial tyre production by 75 percent, from 40,000 tyres a month to 70,000,” the company said in a statement. The decision to expand capacity comes exactly two years after CEAT Sri Lanka commissioned a 600 million rupee radial tyre manufacturing plant at the company’s Kelaniya complex to produce high-performance tyres for cars and sports utility vehicles (SUVs). “Our new investment entails a virtual replication of the plant we opened in July 2014, with new hi-tech machines,” Vijay Gambhire,  managing director, CEAT Sri Lanka  said. “This decision to almost double production reflects our commitment to Sri Lanka and our confidence in the potential of our tyres to compete with global brands in the domestic and export markets. With this investment, CEAT Sri Lanka’s total investment will rise to 3.8 billion rupees.” He said the new machines to be installed would produce 13 sizes of radial tyres, increasing production of several existing sizes as well as adding new sizes to the company’s radial tyre portfolio, which already comprises of 33 sizes -- 20 for cars, eight for vans and five for SUVs. “The increase in production capacity and the introduction of new sizes will significantly strengthen the CEAT brand’s position as the highest-selling radial tyre in the local market, and give us the potential to double our market share in the segment,” Ravi Dadlani,  vice president sales, marketing & exports, CEAT Sri Lanka said. "New technology acquisitions such as the latest bead apexing machines, cap strip machines, improved tyre building machines and curing presses introduced in the radial plant commissioned two years ago, will also be installed in the expanded plant." Similarly, the expansion would encompass the use of segmented moulds instead of two-piece moulds for the manufacture high quality block-pattern radial tyres for high end SUVs and off-road vehicles, he added About a third of CEAT Sri Lanka’s current tyre production is exported to 15 countries in South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Far East.