COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Specialty tire maker Global Rubber Industries (Pvt.) Ltd. (GRI) is constructing a rubber mixing facility in the Mirigama Export Processing Zone in Sri Lanka while readying to increase tire capacity.
According to the tire maker, the mixing facility will be able to produce 200 metric tons a day, more than three times the current capacity of 50 to 60 metric tons.
The cost of the investment has not been disclosed.
GRI said the mixing facility will feature state-of-the-art equipment, including automatic weighing equipment "to ensure sustainable" and consistent quality manufacturing in its tires.
Ananda Caldera, executive director of GRI, said the mixing plant will "meet current demand and facilitate further expansion. We are in the process of ramping up our tire production and gradually increasing capacity to better serve our customers worldwide."
GRI produces agriculture and construction tires as well as solid tires for materials-handling applications at its 2-year-old plant in Badalgama. Its plant, GRI said, has auto-feeding of fillers to ensure little dust is generated by carbon black. The production process has no waste or by-products, GRI said, as any dust collected is re-used.
"We are proud to announce that the new facility will be constructed with an eye on future demand for specialty pneumatic and solid tires," GRI CEO Mahesha Ranasoma said.
"In the backdrop of challenging circumstances, we remain steadfast in our goal in taking GRI and high-quality Sri Lankan-made specialty tires to the world."
Recently, the head of Sri Lanka's Presidential Task Force on Economic Revival and Poverty Alleviation praised GRI during a plant tour for "contributing toward the economic prosperity of Sri Lanka."
The company also recently upgraded its website, streamlining its navigation and adding a detailed tire finder tool.
