Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday inaugurated Ceat’s tyre plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai. The plant is expected to generate 1,000 jobs, with a proposed investment of ₹4,000 crore.
Inaugurating the plant, the Chief Minister said that Ceat had now joined other tyre-makers like MRF Ltd., Apollo Tyres, JK Tyres and Michellin Tyres in setting up a factory in the State.
“From two-wheeler tyres to tyres for fighter aircraft, they are all made in Tamil Nadu,” Mr. Palaniswami said, adding that the State accounted for 40% of India's tyre production. He pointed out that all clearances for the project were issued through the single window portal.
“An environment is emerging wherein the entire supply chain is being created within the State and firms need not depend on imports for raw materials,” he said.
“For instance, the tyre companies are currently importing synthetic rubber, which is a key raw material from countries like Malaysia and others. The proposed petrochemical project in the State will enable the tyre-makers to source the raw material at low cost locally, and the project will generate jobs,” Mr. Palaniswami said.
‘Firms reopening’
He also said companies which were closed down due to various reasons were being re-opened due to the efficient functioning of the State government. The Chief Minister congratulated Anant Goenka, MD, Ceat Tyres Ltd., and his team for implementing the project within a short span of 18 months since the signing of the memorandum of understanding with the State government. He requested Mr. Goenka to start a major R&D facility in Tamil Nadu.
Sixth plant
The Chennai plant would be the sixth in the country for Ceat, the flagship company of the RPG Group. “The company has invested ₹1,400 crore and employs 350 people, and plans to ramp up the investment to ₹4,000 crore over the next 7-10 years, and will create over 1,000 direct jobs,” said Mr. Goenka. Women accounted for 20% of the workforce and the company planned to raise it to 40% over time, he said.
He pointed out that the plant would cater to both domestic and export markets and the plant will reach full capacity utilisation in six months.
With a total area of 163 acres, the plant has a manufacturing capacity of 28,500 passenger car radial tyres per day and 2,500 motorcycle radial tyres per day.
Mr. Goenka said the Chennai plant will emerge as the company’s largest plant going forward and will make tyres for electric vehicles, high-end cars and bikes and for European markets.