TVS-Owned Sun Tyre & Wheel Buys Watts Lanka Factory
Sun Tyre & Wheel Systems, part of the $6 billion TVS Group of India, has completed the acquisition of Watts Lanka Private Limited, the firm’s solid industrial tyres manufacturing company in Colombo, Sri Lanka. No details of how much was paid for the company or of the extent of the new owner’s expansion plans have been released.
Announcing the news Sun Tyre & Wheel Systems said it is “dedicated to serving the world’s material handling industry with a wide range of tyre and wheel solutions covering most applications and operating environments.” Watts Lanka Private Limited (which will be renamed shortly) was a joint venture between Watts Tyres Limited of the UK and KVK Invest JSC of Bulgaria, principal shareholder in Balkancar Zarya PLC. One insider told Tyres & Accessories that, as the sale relates to a purchase prior to Watts’ recent buyout, this had been considered as an option for some time.
Sun Tyre & Wheel Systems reports that 95 per cent of its sales overseas are exports with distribution across all continents. Despite expanding its manufacturing facilities in India substantially over the past three years, the firm reports that it still “finds itself seriously short of capacity.” Even during the global recession, the company is said to have recorded a healthy growth rate of 40 per cent.
Commenting in an official statement announcing the news, Sun Tyre’s management said: “The acquisition of the Sri Lankan company will not only add much needed capacity and considerably ease delivery pressures, but also provide strategic location advantages by establishing a base in the world’s centre for solid tyres.” Work has already begun on adding more manufacturing equipment to increase the base capacity in Colombo. Production and shipment from Sri Lanka will commence within the next four weeks.
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