Ceat breaks ground on radial plant in India

Ceat Ltd. has broken ground on a £95 million radial tyre factory in the Indian state of Gujarat. The new factory is expected to eventually produce up to 500 tonnes of passenger, light and medium truck tyres a day, with as much as 40 per cent of production earmarked for export. According to Ceat, the factory will be constructed in three phases, with the first of these entering production in June 2010. Daily capacity at this time will be in the area of 100 to 150 tonnes.

The factory site, in the town of Halol, offers a good infrastructure and trained labour force, says Ceat managing director Paras Chowdhary. Its proximity to the port of Baroda also allows for convenient importation of materials and export of finished products. The factory, which will be Ceat’s third in India, is situated in the vicinity of General Motors and Tata vehicle production factories.