Sri Lanka-based off-highway tyre maker GRI has opened a new corporate office in the USA. Situated in North Carolina within the Research Triangle Park (RTP), a location chosen for its close proximity to a growing customer base, the facility will take over sales operations, customer support and logistics functions. This local presence will also facilitate GRI’s endeavours to develop products specifically for the North American market.
Off-highway tyre specialist GRI has introduced an agricultural tyre range containing 37.5 per cent sustainable materials. The new Green XLR Earth series is made with a high percentage of recycled carbon black, soybean oil, HD silica and reclaimed rubber. GRI debuted the range at the Farm Progress Show in Iowa, USA.
Phase 2 of a US$100 million production capacity upgrade at the GRI specialty tyre factory in Sri Lanka is now complete, and GRI reports being in a position to increase capacity by almost 100 per cent from the present level, up to a daily output of 60 tonnes. This elevated capacity will satisfy the increased demand for farm tyres that GRI has enjoyed since launching agricultural ranges across key markets such as Europe, the USA and Australia in 2018.
With its currency the world’s worst-performing at present, Sri Lanka is facing an economic and political crisis. Despite these issues, GRI remains resilient and continues to supply its specialty tyres to global customers. The tyre maker has published a statement underlining its commitment to stand firm during the challenging times prevailing in the island nation.
Sri Lankan tyre maker GRI shares that it has received three awards for demonstrating excellence in business whilst contributing to the country’s economic advancement. It accepted these honours at the recent National Business Excellence Awards 2021, which was hosted by the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka.
GRI recently acquired specialty tyre company Protyre in the Baltics. GRI has previously bought Protyre in Estonia as well as Nortire in the region. Together they highlight GRI’s material handling, agriculture, and OEM growth strategy. According to Martynas Jankauskis, managing director, of GRI-owned Nortire, the synergy with GRI is poised to “increase its sales volumes by ten times in the Baltics”.
Bestowed by the country’s President, the Presidential Export Award is considered Sri Lanka’s highest honour in recognition of outstanding contribution to the export sector and to the country’s economic development. The most recent awards ceremony took place on 26 November, and tyre maker GRI was named Best Exporter of Dry Rubber Products for the second consecutive year.
With global demand for its specialty tyres on the rise, Sri Lankan off-highway tyre maker GRI is expanding its manufacturing capacity through a range of projects, including construction of a new mixing plant in Mirigama, 40 miles east of Colombo. GRI is investing US$25 million to set up the facility, which will have a capacity of 200 tonnes a day.
Last Friday was an important day for GRI in regards to its environmental engagements – the Sri Lankan tyre maker launched its ‘Greening Our Planet’ project by planting 450 rubber trees at smallholder rubber farms in Moneragala District.
Green has long been a byword for environmental awareness, and to ensure nobody doubts the credentials of its latest product, GRI Tires is offering the new Ultimate Green XT in this particular colour. The company says the tyre is its “most environmentally-friendly” product so far.
Locally harvested natural rubber is the key raw material that Sri Lankan tyre maker GRI Tires utilises. It thus views natural rubber farmers as important stakeholders in the ‘GRI ecosystem’. This is an ecosystem that “focuses on sustainability and aims to inspire the farming communities by recognising their work as well as providing knowledge and skills for their development and optimising the yields from their natural rubber farms.”
Sri Lanka based tyre manufacturer GRI has designed and developed a special material handling solid tyre to operate indoors and outdoors snowy terrain. The manufacturer said the Peakmaster Snow reflects the company’s “innovation and engineering ingenuity,” developed to meet special customer needs and specifications. The solid tyre combines an innovative design and an advanced construction for performance in winter weather, including snow. GRI developed samples with special compounds to function in sub-zero temperatures, testing the resulting solid tyres in specific regions over a complete winter season. It says the tyre “proved its vitality and utility for material handling customers.”
We’ve emerged from lockdown into a market environment of rising raw material prices, a global imbalance of containers and exploding shipping costs, not to mention continuing port disruptions. These combined factors have already led to higher tyre prices and product shortages in some instances, but the extent to which customers are affected can be tempered by good stock management.
GRI Tires has been present and building its customer base in the US market for more than 18 years now. Gary Stevens, GRI’s president of sales for material handling tyres in the US, thus comments that “despite the pandemic and the resultant restrictions, GRI continues to cater to the requirements of the customer with the business seeing growth during the last year.”
In order to meet increasing demand in the agricultural and construction tyre segments around the world, GRI Tires recently introduced new sizes and patterns.
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