Colombo – Sri Lankan off-road tire maker GRI has been granted permission to continue its manufacturing operations under the Covid-19 lockdown.
The Sri Lankan government has declared the natural rubber industry as essential for the country while granting “special permission” to exporting companies to continue production, GRI said in a 1 April statement.
GRI manufactures farm tires and material handling tires, which are “essential to support the food and agriculture industry as well as the logistics industry,” said Prabhash Subasinghe, the company’s managing director.
The company officially opened its €32-million off-road tire manufacturing facility at Badalgama, in western Sri Lanka in January 2018.
Over the past two years, the company has invested in a number of efficiency measures, including a new Comerio Ercole precision calender, particularly used for agricultural tires.
Among the products manufactured at the plant are Green XLR 65, 70, 80 and 95 radial series along with the Green XLR F77 Floatation tires.
GRI also features the bias-ply range of Green EX RIB 3 implement tires, Green EX FL700 Flotation and RT100 tractor tires. and has on 25 Jan, the company has announced.