9292 Tyre Asia Tyre Asia April/May 2018April/May 2018
SoLID TYReS
Sri Lanka is the Solid tyre hub of the world. It remains the
world’s largest Solid tyre manufacturer and supplies around
25 per cent of global Solid tyre demandSri Lanka: Solid all the way
R
ubber industry in Sri
Lanka is enriched with
a rich history pertaining
to plantation. As history
be told, the first rubber seed was
planted at the henerathgoda
Botanical Gardens in Gampaha,
Sri Lanka, giving rise to the
rubber industry in Sri Lanka
in the year 1876. Initially, the
plantation was propagated
in wet zone as traditional
regions, several studies were
conducted in the past 15
years in relation to whether
rubber can be planted in non-
traditional areas like Monaragala,
Kilinochchi, Padiyathalawa and
hambanthota. By the year 2016, natural rubber consumption
was recorded around 150,000 metric tons and around 80%
was used to manufacture rubber product. In early 1970s,
around 80% of total natural rubber harvest was exported as
raw material and the statistic was completely changed with
the expansion of the Rubber product manufacturing sector
in Sri Lanka. The high quality natural rubber is used in highly
profitable rubber product manufacturing and the rubber
products have large market potential in the world. Rubber
products are the third largest export income source in Sri
Lanka and its manufacturing sector can be classified broadly
into two such as, latex based products and dry rubber based
products. Latex based products are different types of gloves,
mattresses, swim caps, condoms, balloons etc. and Dry rubber
based products are tyres, shoes, floor mat, belts conveyer,
engine mounts, bridge bearing etc.Solid tyre hub
history of Sri Lanka tyre industry dates back to1950’s as it
began as tyre re-treading industry. After introduction of free
trade policies and investment promotion zones in late 1970,
the industry was rapidly expanded. Today most of the world’s
international solid tyre manufacturing groups have set up plants
in Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka has become as Solid tyre hub in theworld. It remains the world’s largest Solid tyre manufacturer
and supplies around 25 per cent of global Solid tyre demand. Sri
Lanka’s Solid tyre industry is dominated by private sectors and
majority of them are joint ventures or direct foreign investment.
Solid tyre is an older version, which is revolutionarily
overtaken by Pneumatic Tyre. however Solid Tyre still plays an
important role as they are used in a unique variety of industrial
applications owing to their special features. Solid tyres are
extremely stable, puncture-resistant, and maintenance-free.
They have a high load bearing capacity in extreme service
condition. Also, it is extremely economical. These features
make them ideal for forklift trucks, airport vehicles, heavy-
duty transport vehicles, platform trucks, and other industrial
vehicles.
Solid tyres are broadly classified into three main categories,
namely, Resilient tyres, Press-on tyres and cured-on tyres.
Resilient tyre is a solid rubber block with two layer or three
layer constructions. Two layer resilient tyre is built from an
inner heel layer comprised of a hard rubber compound and
an outer tread layer made of an abrasion resistance rubber
compound for long tyre life. The three layer resilient tyre
features a third middle layer. here a special, soft rubber
compound layer is added to maximize shock absorption to
mimic the cushioning of a pneumatic and reduce internal tyre
temperature.By Hemantha Wattegedara *
FIG. NO 01: Cross section of Resilient TyreHemantha Wattegedara