Quality focus underpins CEAT Kelani’s status as one of Sri Lanka’s best-managed companies

Behind the success of every global product brand is a story of strong and consistent management of every aspect of the product’s lifecycle, from sourcing of raw material, to production processes, packaging, distribution, pricing, aftersales support and the customer experience, as well as sustainability and good citizenship.

This is the formula that also underpins the remarkable success of the CEAT brand in Sri Lanka’s tyre market, in recognition of which CEAT Kelani Holdings was adjudged the best-managed tyre manufacturing company in Sri Lanka and reaffirmed as one of the top 20 companies in the country for best management practices, by the Institute of Chartered Professional Managers (CPM) Sri Lanka.

The company received the Category Award in the ‘Tyre, Rubber, Metal & Wood Furniture’ sector at the 2025 edition of CPM’s ‘Best Management Practices Company Awards’ in addition to the Top 20 award presented at the awards gala. This is the second consecutive year that CEAT Kelani was recognised as one of the best managed companies in Sri Lanka.

The CPM awards honour the best practices in management in terms of leadership, policies and strategies, people management, partnerships & resources, processes and performance.

“Awards of this nature encourage us to strive for even greater heights in management practices, adopting global best practices in aligning strategic direction with a people-centric approach,” CEAT Kelani Managing Director Mr Ravi Dadlani said. “We have already shattered the stereotype for large-scale manufacturing operations and are considered a case study for a successful privatisation of a state-owned enterprise, with unprecedented achievements in productivity, product development, deployment of new technology, research and development, market leadership, sustainability and good corporate citizenship.”

He said CEAT Kelani has transformed from an “inside-out” company to an “outside-in” organisation, placing customer and market centricity at the core of everything it does. This shift is reinforced through regular market visits by employees at all levels, including management, shop floor staff, and all business functions.

One of the highlights of the year assessed for the CPM awards was the launch of a comprehensive strategic marketing campaign aimed at enhancing brand premiumisation, increasing brand consideration and sales, focusing on leveraging CEAT car radials tyres’ positioning as German engineered tyres that deliver the most controlled and comfortable driving experience on Sri Lankan roads.

CEAT Kelani also significantly increased its support to Sri Lanka’s burgeoning vehicle assembly industry by developing high-performance Original Equipment (OEM) Tyres for a wide range of locally assembled vehicles, including cars, SUVs, motorcycles, scooters, and commercial vehicles. This initiative boosts competitiveness, creates jobs, and fosters economic growth. Through OEM projects, CEAT enhances its manufacturing capabilities, aligns with global quality standards, and tailors products to meet local needs.

The launch of the ‘CEAT Europe’ Ultra High Performance (UHP) premium car radials for high-end European and Japanese cars and SUVs was another milestone event of 2024. Targeting top-tier elite customers who demand superior performance, the range features six distinct tread patterns, each designed to cater to specific driving needs and enhance overall performance.

Additionally, CEAT Kelani Holdings (CKH) retained its ‘AA+(lka)/Outlook Stable’ National Long-Term rating from Fitch Ratings in 2024 for the fourth consecutive year. The rating reflects CEAT’s strong position in the domestic tyre industry and financial resilience. Fitch’s ‘Stable Outlook’ rating also indicates CEAT Kelani’s ability to retain market share despite rising competition from imported tyres and to maintain solid credit metrics, even during intensive investment periods.

The company’s unwavering focus on quality-based management (QBM) also won CEAT Kelani nine Golds and a Silver at the 2024 International Convention on Quality Control Circles (ICQCC). Significantly, the company presented 10 Quality Improvement Projects (QIPs) targeting Quality, Cost, and Delivery (QCD) outcomes at this international convention, and every one of them won an award, grabbing the limelight at the event.

The nine Quality Improvement Projects that won Gold awards for CEAT pertained to Reduction of belt scrap generation in Radial operations; Reduction of rework generation in the Cold Feed Extruder at the Kelaniya Plant; Elimination of motorcycle tyre lamination problem; Optimisation to achieve 2-wheeler tyre weight; Scrap data accuracy improvement; Reduction of engineering spares inventory value; reduction of tyre scrap generation in motorcycle tyre plant; Reduction of shear strip curing costs while increasing throughput; and Reduction of tyre scrap generation in radial plant. The Silver award was won for a project to reduce compound scrap generation.

“Continuous improvement of quality is one of the main pillars of CEAT’s success in the market as the brand progresses up the value chain in terms of products and service,” CEAT Kelani Chief Operating Officer Mr Shamal Gunawardene said. “This must be accompanied by enhanced efficiencies that benefit all product segments in terms of costs as well as reduced environmental impacts. The work of our Quality Improvement teams is therefore extremely important, and the nine Gold awards we won are a fitting testament to their contribution to our Total Quality Management culture.”

This commitment to quality also resulted in CEAT Kelani being adjudged the Winner in the Manufacturing (Other) Category and receiving the Local Market Reach Award at the National Business Excellence Awards (NBEA) in 2024.

The CEAT brand originated in Italy and is backed by German engineering technology and extensive research and testing facilities in India and Europe. In addition to manufacturing half of Sri Lanka’s pneumatic tyre requirements, CEAT Kelani Holdings exports about 20 per cent of its production to 16 countries 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.