The second phase expansion of GRI’s production facility, which began in January 2021, is progressing well despite the challenges posed by the current lockdown in Sri Lanka. The new and advanced specialty tire manufacturing plant is being built next to GRI’s current facility with a total investment of $100 million (US).
The aim is to enhance GRI’s current production capacity to 750,000 tires per year with a total capacity of 100 tons per day. With the ongoing expansion, the installed machine capacity has increased from 25 tons of tires per day in January to 35 tons per day presently. The plan is to reach a production capacity of 1,000 tons of tires per month by July. All the required machinery for this phase of plant expansion has been commissioned methodically.
“The building expansion work is ongoing for the entire land. We will be doubling the extent of the production facility. The total area will be 220,000-square-feet, which is the size of approximately four-and-a-half football fields. We hope to complete construction by October this year and by December we will have an installed capacity of 50 tons per day. GRI will further install capacity to reach 100 tons per day in 2022,” explained Ananda Caldera, executive director of GRI.
Protecting the environment is always at the forefront for GRI, and the company focuses on reducing its carbon footprint as well as its impact on the environment. Thus, the new facility will expand GRI’s solar panel initiative and generate 2.5 mega watts of solar power. “We will focus on optimizing energy efficiency, water conservation and waste management. The building is designed in a way that during the day the facility will be illuminated by natural light. Greening of the production facility will be done by planting more than 75 trees on the premises,” explained Dr. Mahesha Ranasoma, CEO of GRI.
Despite the travel restrictions imposed with the advent of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka, construction work continues on schedule of the production facility, and progress has been satisfactory, according to GRI.
