CEAT Kelani named one of 10 best-managed companies in Sri Lanka by CPM

CEAT’S emergence as the top brand in

Sri Lanka’s tyre sector is also the result of substantial and consistent investments over several years that have seen not just exponential increases in volumes but expansion of the product range, the deployment of new technology and quantum improvements in product quality. The Company’s new retail concepts are designed to ensure the customer experience keeps pace with the brand’s growth.

CEAT Kelani’s achievements in the year assessed for the CPM Award included becoming the first tyre manufacturing company in Sri Lanka to receive the prestigious IATF 16949 automotive quality management system standard certification from the International Automotive Task Force (IATF); receiving a National Long-term rating of 'Aa+(lka)/stable' from Fitch Ratings for the third consecutive year; and taking its Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) partnerships in Sri Lanka to more than 10.

CEAT Kelani Holdings, one of Sri Lanka’s manufacturing success stories, has been named among the country’s top 10 companies for best management practices by the Institute of Chartered Professional Managers (CPM) Sri Lanka.

The Top 10 award was presented to the company in respect of its performance in 2023 at the third edition of CPM’S ‘Best Management Practices Company Awards.’ The awards recognise best practices in management in terms of leadership, policies and strategies, people management, partnerships & resources, processes and performance.

CEAT Kelani, which manufactures nearly half of Sri Lanka’s pneumatic tyre requirements, embarked on a new initiative in 2023 to fortify key enablers, targeting revenue of Rs 26 billion by 2025-26 via winning products, manufacturing and service excellence and first-to-market digitalization.

The plan envisages the CEAT brand retaining dominant market share in the truck and bus and light truck tyre segment, and building on its market-leading shares in passenger car and van radials, truck bus radials and motorcycle tyres. “We are naturally elated to be recognised by an institute of the stature of CPM as one of the 10 best managed companies in Sri Lanka,” CEAT Kelani Managing Director Mr Ravi Dadlani said. “This award is particularly noteworthy in the context of CEAT Kelani’s genesis as the progeny of a contentious privatisation of a state-owned enterprise in 1992.”

“Over the years, the CEAT Kelani joint venture has been cited as a case study for a successful privatisation on the basis of its achievements in productivity, product development, investments in expansion, deployment of new technology, research and development, local market leadership, exports and its support to the national effort to conserve foreign exchange,” Mr Dadlani added. “This award for management practices is the icing on the cake.”

CEAT Kelani’s achievements in the year assessed for the CPM Award included becoming the first tyre manufacturing company in Sri Lanka to receive the prestigious IATF 16949 automotive quality management system standard certification from the International Automotive Task Force (IATF); receiving a National Longterm rating of ‘Aa+(lka)/stable’ from Fitch Ratings for the third consecutive year; and taking its Original Equipment

Manufacturer (OEM) partnerships in Sri Lanka to more than 10.

CEAT has also embarked on a three-year distribution channel expansion strategy in Sri Lanka, to drive CEAT’S brand exclusivity, visibility and premiumisation and enhance customer experience at partner outlets in tandem with product improvements. The strategy involves opening a series of flagship outlets designated as Company Invested Dealer Operated (CIDO) outlets, and a second tier of CEAT Shop-in-shop (SIS) outlets at multibrand dealer premises.

CEAT Kelani provides the new flagship CIDO outlets with the elements of their modern interior design, the roofing, lighting and furniture, tyre display and sample racks, a customer lounge with sofa, illuminated brand boards in store and outside including pylon signage for visibility from a distance.

At the SIS outlets, CEAT furnishes the interior, customer lobby and reception areas of this space dedicated to the brand, to augment customer comfort. Additionally, CEAT Kelani Holdings invests in interior branding, signage, and innovative product display racks to emphasise the tyre offerings available with the channel partner.

CEAT’S investments in distribution channel upgrades and expansion in Sri Lanka have to date resulted in the opening of the three CIDO outlets at Etul Kotte, Madampe and Mirihana, as well as the opening of six Shopin-shop (SIS) outlets at Borella, Pamankada, Malabe, Colombo 14 (two outlets) and Hanwella.

CEAT’S emergence as the top brand in Sri Lanka’s tyre sector is also the result of substantial and consistent investments over several years that have seen not just exponential increases in volumes but expansion of the product range, the deployment of new technology and quantum improvements in product quality. The Company’s new retail concepts are designed to ensure the customer experience keeps pace with the brand’s growth.

In the sphere of sustainability, CEAT Kelani has invested Rs 475 million in a 295,200 square foot High Tension (HT) metering rooftop photovoltaic panel solar power plant as part of the company’s efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of its manufacturing operations at its Kelaniya complex. The 2.4 MW solar power plant will produce 59.61 GWH in its operational period, offsetting about 21 per cent of CEAT’S consumption of electricity from the national grid and contributing to an omission of 42,326 Tons of CO₂ emissions.

The CEAT brand originated in Italy and is backed by German engineering technology and extensive research and testing facilities in India and Europe. In addition to manufacturing half of Sri Lanka’s pneumatic tyre requirements, CEAT Kelani Holdings exports about 20 per cent of its production to 16 countries and plays a significant role in helping the national economy conserve foreign exchange by reducing dependence on imported tyres. The joint venture’s cumulative investment in Sri Lanka over the past decade exceeds Rs 8.5 billion.