Following a US$100m investment, tire manufacturer GRI has completed phase II of the planned upgrades at the company’s specialty tire factory in Columbo, Sri Lanka.

The recent upgrades have resulted in GRI almost doubling its production capacity to 60 tons per day to support the growing demand for the company’s agricultural tire range which was launched in 2018 across the USA, European and Australian markets.

To enable a 60-ton capacity, GRI utilized a 53,340m2 total area for the expansion which began in 2021. Eight new tire building machines and 17 tire curing presses have been added to the facility which now uses state-of-the-art technology for real-time decision making and machine optimization.

At present, phase III of the expansion project is underway, with the tire maker seeking to expand its current production capacity to 100 tons per day, which equates to 750,000 tires per year. Upon completion of the third phase the facility will have expanded by 67,056m2 .

“We are proud to have received such encouraging levels of customer acceptance for our radial as well as bias agriculture tires, which we present to the international markets we operate in as our Green XLR and Green EX brands,” said Dr Mahesha Ranasoma, CEO, GRI. “As a result of this expansion, we are now able to double our current volumes and provide our customers with the opportunity to grow their businesses. We are also happy to be serving Sri Lanka by creating employment opportunities through this expansion while generating much-needed foreign earnings and export revenues for the country.”

After spending six years working as a mechanic for various motorsport and high-end performance car companies, Callum joined UKi Media & Events in February 2020 as an assistant editor. In this role he uses his vast practical knowledge and passion for automotive to produce informative news pieces for multiple vehicle-related sectors.

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