Eight Quality Improvement Projects implemented at CEAT Kelani Holdings have won Gold awards for Sri Lanka’s leading tyre manufacturer at the National Convention on Quality and Productivity (NCQP) 2024, organised by the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Quality and Productivity (SLAAQP).
Noteworthy about this achievement was that every Quality Improvement Project presented by CEAT Kelani at the convention received a Gold award, and the teams that presented them have qualified to represent Sri Lanka at the International Convention on Quality Control Circles (ICQCC) 2024, to be held in Colombo in November.
The eight Quality Improvement Projects that won Gold awards pertained to Eliminating Motorcycle Tyre Lamination Problem; Achievement of Optimal Motorcycle Tyre weight; Process Improvement in Scrap Data Management; Reduction of Engineering Spares Inventory Value; Reduction of Tyre Scrap Generation in Motorcycle Tyre Plant; Reduction of Compound Scrap Generation; Reducing Shear Strip Curing costs while increasing throughput; and Reduction of Tyre Scrap Generation in Radial Plant.
CEAT Kelani also won two awards at the Kaizen competition for Continuous Improvement of working practices, personal efficiency, and overall productivity. The term “Kaizen” translates to “change for the better” and emphasises small, incremental changes which lead to large-scale process transformations.
Congratulating the award-winning teams, CEAT Kelani Chief Operating Officer Mr Shamal Gunawardene said: “Winning eight Golds for the eight quality improvement initiatives we submitted is an emphatic affirmation of CEAT’s commitment to quality and continuous improvement of products and processes, as well as the involvement of our employees in total quality management. We have developed a customised and holistic Total Quality Management system that has become part of the culture at CEAT.”
“CEAT’s credo – ‘Making Mobility Safer and Smarter. Everyday.’ – is driven by the values of Play to Win, Agility, Customer Obsession, Empowerment and Caring. These values bind employees together and motivate them to bring out the best in every member of the team,” he added.
CEAT Kelani Holdings currently manufactures half of Sri Lanka’s pneumatic tyre requirements, exports about 20 per cent of its production and plays a significant role in helping the national economy conserve foreign exchange by reducing dependence on imported tyres. The joint venture’s cumulative investment in Sri Lanka over the past decade alone exceeds Rs 8.5 billion.
The CEAT brand originated in Italy and is backed by extensive research and testing facilities in India and Germany. The largest domestic manufacturer of cross-ply and radial tyres in Sri Lanka, CEAT’s emergence as the top brand in the country’s tyre sector is the result of substantial investments over several years that have seen not just exponential increases in volumes but expansion of the product range, the deployment of new technology and quantum improvements in quality. The company’s manufacturing operations encompass pneumatic tyres in the radial (passenger cars, vans and SUVs), commercial (Bias-ply and radial), motorcycle, three-wheeler and agricultural vehicle segments.