COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (Sept. 24, 2010) — Trelleborg A.B. has commissioned expanded tire production at a Trelleborg Tyres Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd. factory outside Colombo for making solid and pneumatic industrial tires.
The Swedish company has consolidated its global production of solid industrial tires to Sri Lanka, and the unit there has been expanded and streamlined to accommodate a new tire-making technology.
Trelleborg did not say what the expanded plant's capacity is. Previously it has stated it has 29,000 metric tons of annual capacity in the country.
Trelleborg declined to discuss the new technology in detail, saying only it is an “innovative production system” that allows the company to streamline production, thus yielding higher efficiency, flexibility and quality.
Part of the expanded production replaces capacity phased out last year in Hartville, Ohio. Earlier Trelleborg said it budgeted $19 million to consolidate production in Sri Lanka, where it has made industrial tires since the early 1980s.
Trelleborg said an estimated 80 percent of industrial tires produced globally are made in Sri Lanka.
“There is an excellent infrastructure for raw material in the country, making it a natural location for Trelleborg to consolidate the production of solid industrial tires,” the firm said.
“Naturally, it is very inspiring for employees here to work in one of the largest production units for solid industrial tires in the world. To also be involved in introducing the new production technology was very exciting,” said Antonio Garcia, head of Trelleborg's production unit in Sri Lanka.
Trelleborg employs about 800 in the Asian island nation.