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SRI LANKA
According to Vinothini, the plant, which still retreads by both hot and cold processes, is likely to foray into tread rubber production also. “We are working on starting tread rubber production in the next couple of years. My UK based brother has ideas and he is working on the plan and visiting various rubber shows in India in search of the right equipment,” she stated. When asked about the closure of
started coming in from other parts of the province to collect tyres, but there is no plant in Jaffna except for Northern Industries as yet. “We are the only company with a retreading plant in Jaffna, but other major retreading companies from central and southern areas are sending vehicles to Jaffna to collect and deliver tyres at very competitive prices,” she stated. But now Northern Industries is
Northern Industries (Pvt) Ltd plant
Sumith Rubber will soon upgrade its existing plant machinery, but with the slowdown in the market, the
company has held back ordering new equipment for the time being.
Jaffna's Oldest Retreader to Start Tread Rubber Production
One of the oldest retreading plants in Jaffna, the capital of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, was revived in 2005. The plant originally opened in 1963, retreading a variety of tyres including truck, bus, light truck, tractor and three wheelers by the
precure as well as hot cure processes. “It was the only one at the time, but it closed in 1992 and reopened in 2005 when the civil war started waning,” explained Vinothini Shanmugalingam, Director, Northern Industries (Pvt) Ltd.
the plant for almost 13 years, Vinothini, a Doctor by profession said; “We shut down the plant during the peak war time as power was supplied for only a few hours, and it became impossible to run the plant,” she said.
Her father restarted the plant with the precure process in 2005 using Elgi tread but also producing camelback for the hot
also working on ideas to get aggressive in the market like contacting fleet owners directly and also helping them to improve their productivity as the plant is running under capacity. Commenting on the prevailing trends in the Northern market, Vinothini said, “People have the perception that it is better to buy cheap new tyres as they can carry more load even though
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cure system. Says Vinothini; “It was my father’s wish to run the plant as so many livelihoods are attached here. These people have been working with us for many years, and it’s now our collective responsibility to run the plant,” she insisted.
With the peace returned to the once troubled Northern province, the retreaders have
they have shorter life compare to branded tyres which could be retreaded multiple times.” In the Southern part of Sri Lanka, retreading companies have a better grip over the market and retread tyres have considerable acceptability.
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