CEAT first tyre producer in Sri Lanka to be IATF 16949 certified

Key members of the teams from the CEAT plants in Kelaniya and Kalutara that were involved in securing the IATF certification

A radial tyre building machine at the CEAT Kelani production complex

Three manufacturing plants of CEAT Kelani Holdings have been awarded IATF 16949 that verifies that their products meet exceptionally high-quality standards and supply chain efficiency, making CEAT Sri Lanka the first tyre manufacturing group in the country to qualify for this prestigious international certification.

The certification covers CEAT Kelani International Tyres Ltd., CEAT Kelani Radials Ltd. and Associated CEAT Ltd. as well as the CEAT Kelani Head Office and CEAT R&D India as the remote supportive locations for the three manufacturing plants.

Awarded by the International Automotive Task Force (IATF), IATF 16949 is an automotive quality management system standard, that certifies that CEAT Sri Lanka has met the extensive requirements to create high standard quality products with a process of continuous improvement that focuses on defect prevention and reduction of variation and waste in the supply chain.

Applicable to automotive production and service part organisations, the certification also defines how an organisation could meet the requirements of its customers and other stakeholders. To qualify for this certification, CEAT Sri Lanka had to comply with ISO 9001:2015 and IATF 16949:2016 quality management system requirements and implement five core tools, including Advance Product Quality Planning (APQP), Failure Modes and Effect Analysis (FMEA) to ensure potential problems are considered and addressed throughout product and process development with the help of control plans, and Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) that ensures products consistently meet customer engineering specification requirements.

The company also actioned a series of initiatives such as quality based management, customer insighting approach, lean manufacturing principles, problem solving processes using the seven Quality Control (7 QC) tools, six sigma using the ‘define, measure, analyse, improve, and control (DMAIC)’ approach, supplier integration, and corporate policy changes, among others. Commenting on achieving the IATF 16949 certification, CEAT Sri Lanka Managing Director Ravi Dadlani said: “The IATF journey for CEAT Sri Lanka entailed a well-crafted integration of existing and new auto industry-specific requirements while maintaining customer satisfaction and continuous improvement, which have always been our top priorities. Obtaining this certification demonstrates CEAT Sri Lanka’s ability to cater to automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) across the world.”

In 2022 alone, CEAT Sri Lanka was appointed as the official tyre supplier for locally assembled Tata Ace HT series of compact trucks and as the Original Equipment Manufacturer for Ashok Leyland’s range of heavy-duty trucks, tippers and light commercial vehicles, and began manufacturing the CEAT Secura Drive SUV 215/55 R17, the first of a range of high-performance 17-inch replacement tyres for medium-sized SUVs like the Honda Vezel. CEAT is also an Original Equipment Manufacturer for Bolero City Pik-up vehicles assembled in Sri Lanka by Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) India in collaboration with Ideal Motors.

CEAT Sri Lanka recently conducted a series of track tests at India’s state-of-the-art National Automotive Test Tracks (NATRAX) in Indore and at CEAT India’s corporate R&D facility in Halol, to benchmark six radial tyres and five motorcycle tyres the company manufactures in Sri Lanka against major competitor brands based on multiple key value propositions.

Developed by the International Automotive Task Force, IATF 16949 certification is an industry requirement that aligns automotive quality management systems throughout the world. The IATF is a group of automotive manufacturers and their respective National Automotive Industry Associations. IATF members include the BMW Group, Ford Motor Company, Geely Group, General Motors, IVECO Group, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Renault Group, Stellantis (ex FCA), Stellantis (ex PSA), Volkswagen AG and their respective National Automotive Industry Associations – AIAG (USA), ANFIA (Italy), FIEV (France), SMMT (UK) and VDA (Germany).

The manufacturer of nearly half of Sri Lanka’s pneumatic tyre requirements, CEAT Sri Lanka is considered one of the most successful India – Sri Lanka joint ventures. The joint venture’s cumulative investment in Sri Lanka to date exceeds Rs. 8 billion. The company’s manufacturing operations in Sri Lanka encompass tyres in the radial (passenger cars, vans, and SUVs), commercial (nylon and radial), motorcycle, three-wheeler, and agricultural vehicle segments.

The CEAT brand accounts for market shares in Sri Lanka of 48% in the Radial segment, 80% in the Truck category, 84% Light Truck tyre category, 51% in the Three-Wheeler tyre segment, 36% in the Motorcycle tyre segment and 72% in the Agricultural vehicle tyre category. CEAT Sri Lanka exports about 20% of its production to 16 countries in South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Far East.