Ceat Bangladesh project confirmed

Indian manufacturer Ceat Tyres is establishing a tyre factory in Bangladesh, according to local news source BDNews24. The Mumbai-based parent company of Ceat, RPG Group, has reportedly signed a joint venture agreement with AK Khan to set up the plant with an initial investment of $67 million.

CEAT managing director Jyotibrata Banerjee said the company aims to become Bangladesh’s leading tyre firm by setting up a factory in Bhaluka, Mymensingh. Prices are expected to be 25-30 per cent lower than importing tires from India.

However, Banerjee also said Ceat wants to export 30-35 per cent of the production of its Bangladesh factory to the states bordering India.

The new plant will make cross-ply tyres for trucks, light and small commercial vehicles and two-wheelers for the local market during its first phase. Later it will manufacture automobile tyres.

In 2013 Ceat announced that it was building a production plant in Bangladesh, with production slated to commence a year later. Because both investments totally exactly US$67 million, it appears that the latest reports refer to the same 2013 project. However, the fact that Ceat executives have gone back on the record three years after production was originally planned to begin suggests the project has been running at least three years behind schedule.