CEAT honoured at National Quality Awards 2011

Thursday, 16 June 2011 01:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Continued emphasis on maintaining high quality standards has enabled top tyre manufacturer CEAT Kelani Holdings Sri Lanka to secure another prestigious national award at the National Quality Awards 2011.

CEAT was honoured with a Merit Award in the Manufacturing (Large Scale) category at the awards ceremony at BMICH organised by the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) of the Ministry of Science and Technology, to acknowledge organisations that excel in quality performance.

CEAT was the only tyre manufacturer to be honoured in the category at the awards ceremony.

The company’s strong performance in seven aspects – leadership, strategic planning, customer focus, measurement, analysis and knowledge management, workforce focus, processes management and results enabled CEAT to secure this prestigious award. These are the evaluation criteria for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards in the USA.

“An obsessive adherence to quality in all aspects is embedded in the CEAT brand and corporate culture,” a spokesperson for CEAT Sri Lanka said. “This award by the Sri Lanka Standards Institution – the custodian of quality standards in the country – reflects our commitment and passion to sustaining excellent quality standards, on par with those of the best organisations in the international arena.” The National Quality Awards annually recognise organisations in four sectors – Manufacturing, Service, Healthcare and Education.

The award further strengthens CEAT Sri Lanka’s credentials in the spheres of quality and productivity. The company received top honours at last year’s National Business Excellence Awards in the Large Scale Manufacturing (Others) category. The company was also honoured with 11 awards at National Quality and Productivity Competitions organised by the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Quality and Productivity in 2008.

CEAT Kelani Holdings has also won National and Provincial (Western Province) Awards for Quality Circles organised by the Ministry of Labour in 2010 and has been adjudged runner-up for two consecutive years – 2007 and 2008 – at the Best Total Quality Management (TQM) competition of the RPG Group of India.

CEAT Kelani Holdings is an Indo-Sri Lanka joint venture between the RPG Group of India and Kelani Tyre – Sri Lanka. The company operates three manufacturing units in Sri Lanka manufacturing truck, light truck, radial, motorcycle, three-wheeler and agricultural tyres and employs a workforce of 900 people.

Besides its dominance in the radial tyre segment, CEAT is the single highest selling brand in the Truck, Light Truck and Three-wheeler tyre segments. CEAT Sri Lanka is also a major sponsor of sports, with partnerships with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the Sri Lanka Association of Racing Drivers and Riders (SLARDAR).