Ceat Seeks TBR Consultant
Ceat Ltd is seeking a foreign consultant to provide assistance in developing TBR technology. The company is in discussions with consultants in the US and Europe and, according to vice-president of Sales and Marketing Arnab Banerjee, they most likely will sign an agreement with one of them within the next two or three months.
However he added that this does not mean the Indian tyremaker’s earlier plans to tie up with leading international tyre majors for technical know how have been shelved. Ceat has been talking with a number of companies, including Pirelli, and will continue to do so. “We decided to work on the technology on our own in parallel so that we did not waste time in order to enter the market with our product range,” Banerjee explained.
The chosen consultant will work with Ceat’s research and development department on new TBR projects, including the establishment of a greenfield facility for TBR production. A number of potential sites have been shortlisted for this new factory, which will be ready to begin production in between two and two and a half years. The facility is projected to cost between £60 and £70 million.