CEAT plans to invest US$500 million in new tyre factory

Indian tyre manufacturer Ceat is planning to invest around 40 billion rupees (£442.4 million; 499.8 million euros; $482 million) in the construction of a greenfield tyre manufacturing facility near Sriperumbudur, 40 kilometres west of Chennai. The Times of India reports that the Tamil Nadu cabinet met on Wednesday 27 June to “approve the new project and offered a structured incentive package for the unit, which when becomes operational in about a year, will directly employ 1,000 people”.

CEAT reportedly aims to supply automobile OEMs located nearby and around Chennai including: Hyundai, Renault, Nissan and Ford. At the same time commercial vehicle OEMs Ashok Leyland and Bharat Benz as well as two-wheeler plants of Royal Enfield and Yamaha are located nearby.

Reported incentives include: “assured uninterrupted power supply for the CEAT plant and water supply”. Indeed, Chennai Metro Water is said to be in the process of a construction a tertiary treatment reverse osmosis (TTRO) plant near Koyambedu in Chennai to treat sewage water. A pipeline is being laid to connect Sriperumbudur to this plant, so that the treated water can be supplied to industries. The Ceat plant will then get this water to be used in its manufacturing process at the tyre plant.

CEAT saw a 60% reduction in contract manpower used for manual data entries, and a twofold increase in efficiency of frontline managers. The report preparation time is now reduced from two hours per day to just five minutes. In CEAT’s warehouse, Zebra’s solution helped eliminate manual data entries from 28 consecutive hours to just 28 minutes a day

Visibility solutions improve efficiencies

Shortly before the invest details were released, Zebra Technologies Corporation, a rugged computer, barcode scanner system and software provider, reported details of Ceat’s recent efficiency improvements.

Ceat has used Zebra’s solutions to simplify its processes and build automated workflows that deliver greater efficiencies and business value at its Halol plant in the state of Gujarat. Zebra offered solutions that have improved efficiencies, leading to increased customer satisfaction and profitability for its manufacturing plants across India.

The tyre manufacturer has deployed Zebra’s MC3200 Mobile Computer, DS457 Fixed Scanner, and ZT230 Industry Printer in its manufacturing facility including seamless integration with its existing Management Information Systems (MIS).

As a result Ceat saw a 60 per cent reduction in contract manpower used for manual data entries, and a twofold increase in efficiency of frontline managers. The report preparation time is now reduced from two hours per day to just five minutes. In CEAT’s warehouse, Zebra’s solution helped eliminate manual data entries from 28 consecutive hours to just 28 minutes a day.

By using Zebra’s solutions, CEAT improved dispatch accuracy, leading to a 20-times reduction in fault finding and customer complaints. This helped increase cost efficiency, customer satisfaction, and overall value for the manufacturing process.

CEAT has also reported enhanced employee morale as the new solution has improved operational visibility, transparency, and accountability.

The company has also reported a reduction of paper usage in its workflow, marking a significant step in the company’s aim to go paperless. The success of the Zebra deployment at CEAT’s Halol plant is paving the way for increased use of Zebra technology at its other plants, including the newest Nagpur plant.

“Zebra has helped our Halol plant transform into an intelligent facility, aligning it to CEAT’s long-term vision. We will continue to uphold our mission of delivering best-in-class products and services on the back of innovative technologies that help achieve positive business impact. We are happy to have Zebra as our trusted advisor and look forward to a strong business alliance. In fact, we have already started implementing Zebra’s solutions at our newest plant in Nagpur, making it our first industry 4.0 plant”, said Gopal Rathore, IT Manager, CEAT

“At Zebra, we work with our customers to innovate highly versatile solutions, and we are committed to developing solutions that are scalable and offer quality, value and prompt delivery. With Zebra’s suite of barcode scanning, printing, and mobile computing solutions, we have brought measurable gains in efficiencies and effectiveness for CEAT”, said Deep Agarwal, regional sales director – India, Zebra Technologies.