CEAT Tyres new greenfield unit in Tamil Nadu goes on stream

Tyre major CEAT Ltd inaugurated its new greenfield manufacturing facility at neighbouring Sriperumbudur near here on Wednesday, set up at an outlay of Rs 4,000 crore over a 10-year period.

The facility spread across 163 acres is dubbed to be the largest passenger radial tyres manufacturing plant for the RPG Enterprise flagship firm.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami formally inaugurated the facility located at Kanathanangal village, Mathuramangalam Post, Sriperumbudur along with a host of government officials.

For setting up the unit, company officials and State industries department exchanged documents in 2018 in the presence of Palaniswami.

According to company officials, the plant would have a manufacturing capacity of 28,500 passenger car radial tyres per day and 2,500 motor-cycle radial tyres per day.

The Chennai unit would be one of the most advanced tyre plants in South Asia for CEAT with capacity of serving developed markets and high-end automobile manufacturers.

The company said Rs 4,000 crore investment has been planned over a period of 10 years and initially invested Rs 1,400 crore.

It has planned to employ more than 1,000 people over next few years.

The company said the manufacturing unit would be the first to recruit women to be employed in the shop floor.

The Chennai unit is the sixth manufacturing unit for CEAT Tyres along with other plants located at Mumbai, Nasik, Nagpur, Ambernath and Halol.

"CEAT's factory will be a jewel in the crown of Tamil Nadu.

We are certain that this will bring in many new job opportunities", Palaniswami said at the inauguration.

He said after being a first in vehicle production, Tamil Nadu ranks top in production of tyres.

"All types of tyres are manufactured in Tamil Nadu from two-wheeler to fighter aircraft.

(Of the total tyre production in the country), 40 per cent is contributed from Tamil Nadu", he said.

CEAT Tyres, Managing Director, Anant Goenka said the state offered the benefit of having many automakers besides its proximity to various ports.

"We are proud to inaugurate our state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Kancheepuram. Tamil Nadu offers the unique benefit of having many automobile manufacturers, proximity to port and high-quality labour..", he said.

"We aim to positively enhance the ecosystem here by creating more job opportunities and contribute towards overall betterment of the society and community", he said.

According to a company official, the expansion would create skill development opportunities in the region.

In its annual report, CEAT Tyres said it has lined up investment of Rs 3,500 crore to ramp up production capacity across its plants over a three to four year period.

The company said it has already put in capital to expand plant in Gujarat.

"The total investment in capacity expansion is Rs 3,500 crore, including the amount already incurred on the Halol commercial radial tyre expansion, with the remaining amount to be spent over the next 3-4 years", the report said.

The company was also increasing its two-wheeler tyre manufacturing capacity at Nagpur by 170 lakh tyres per annum.

The company has manufacturing facilities at Bhandup, Mumbai, Nashik, Halol and Nagpur.

It also has an off-highway tyre manufacturing plant at Ambernath, Maharashtra.

CEAT produces over 35 million tyres a year and offers wide range of tyres to all segments.

It exports tyres to around 100 countries.