Global Rubber Industries (GRI) is one of Sri Lanka’s largest manufacturers of specialty tires with offices in nine countries and sales in over 50 countries around the world. Since launching its advanced pneumatic tires in 2018, the company has introduced over 200 specialty tires to the range and built an impressive portfolio. Growth has been phenomenal despite the unfolding Covid-19 pandemic that broke out in 2020.
The company produces high-performance agriculture, construction, and material handling tires, manufactured sustainably using pure natural rubber at its advanced production plants in Sri Lanka. GRI’s state-of-the-art factory is the largest in Sri Lanka to produce specialty tires and the first to make radial agriculture tires. Technological innovation, engineering strength, operational excellence, and superior customer care have powered GRI through rapid growth to become a leader in specialty tires, explains Dr. Mahesha Ranasoma, Chief Executive Officer at GRI.
The GRI worldview finds expression in the following corporate statement: We believe that farmers who nourish the world, construction workers who build for the next generation, and forklift operators who move material to supply our needs are Noble.
In this interview, Ranasoma explains how sustainability drives growth at GRI. One important initiative is the GREEN X Circle, a global farmer ecosystem connecting natural rubber farmers with crop farmers worldwide, with sustainable practices that boost productivity and improve livelihoods across the value chain.
Can you take us through the GRI journey thus far?
GRI began as a greenfield project in 2002 manufacturing specialty solid tires. We have grown over the years and expanded sales to over 50 countries as we diversified beyond solid tires. In 2018, we ventured into another segment of specialty tires, a pneumatic segment for agriculture, construction, and material handling vehicles. In less than three years, we have expanded the market for that range across the US, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia.
The highlight for me, in both our initial phase of solid tires and the new segment, pneumatic tires, is our success in building a global brand out of Sri Lanka. I see us as a branded marketing company. We are not manufacturing white label products but building a global brand from Sri Lanka. We do manufacture tires for the local market, but our orientation is exports. Growth has been phenomenal. The pneumatic tire plant we set up in 2018 is already operating at full capacity due to the encouraging global demand. We are now in the process of doubling production capacity by February of 2022.
What is your vision for the business?
I am excited about the future. While doubling capacity, we are also investing in our marketing and R&D assets and expanding and deepening our B2C reach, which is extremely exciting because we can now understand customer needs better and help our R&D team become more effective.
While business growth remains a priority, I must explain what truly matters to GRI, the thing that has brought us success over the years and continues to drive us forward. We want to leverage our global reach to have a positive impact on the planet. We are committed to manufacturing specialty tires using advanced technology with sustainability at the core of everything we do.
Sustainability is the guiding light for our value system. We have core values clearly articulated and ingrained into our DNA. We strive to be purposeful, relentless, farsighted, caring, customer centric, act with integrity and passionate in everything we do, from how we source raw materials, manufacture, market, distribute and engage with employees and customers. Sustainability is at the heart of the strategy to drive growth and create value for all our stakeholders.
How important is technology and innovation for GRI, and how does it fit into the sustainability agenda?
Technology is one of the success factors for us. Even as the pandemic broke out, we were in a position to adjust faster because we were already tech-savvy across the company’s global network. Technology serves in several areas of our company. It drives our R&D, manufacturing, distribution, marketing and sales, customer relations, and more. We have always tried to incorporate technology to aid our sustainability agenda, from improving productivity to cutting waste, and using green technologies to reduce our global carbon footprint.
We do manufacture tires for the local market, but our orientation is exporting. Growth has been phenomenal. The pneumatic tire plant we set up in 2018 is already operating at full capacity due to the encouraging global demand
To highlight how important sustainability is to us, in 2019, we launched a social leadership programme called GREEN X Circle to empower farmers to be more productive, efficient, and sustainable. As I already explained, sustainability is not a separate function or CSR activity for us. At GRI, sustainability is at the core. The GREEN X Circle movement encapsulates a range of innovative agriculture tires we call GREEN X made under sustainable manufacturing conditions. GREEN X agriculture tires are long-lasting and provide optimal load distribution, making farming more productive and sustainable. We have incorporated farming models and integrated our global marketing and distribution networks into the GREEN X Circle programme to make it an inclusive sustainability initiative and part of our core business. The GREEN X Circle is but one example, and as we move ahead, business growth and sustainability will always go hand in hand.
As CEO, managing the day to day operations, while also focusing on the strategic direction can be demanding. How do you balance this?
I believe our purposefully crafted vision and mission, and our core values, define and dictate how we manage day-to-day operations. What we do each day is for tomorrow or a clearly defined longer-term objective. That is why you need to have a sharp focus on everything you do, and aligning people is critical. You also need to build the right culture and clearly define your values and ensure it becomes part of the DNA. It is important to give opportunities for people to grow and become better versions of themselves. Our employee focus, manifested by various training, mentoring and continuous professional development programmes, is the key to unlocking success as we double capacity, expand global reach, and deepen direct customer relationships.
How has innovation helped GRI in its journey of growth, and especially during the global pandemic that halted business world-wide?
Innovation has many dimensions. Product innovation is one, and the obvious one at that. It demands considerable attention. But so is process innovation to improve efficiencies and productivity while reducing waste. Innovation is also about disrupting or reimagining our business model and how we engage customers across multiple industries and countries. So, innovation means many things for us, but let me give you a specific example to highlight our approach. In product innovation, our R&D team is creating the next generation of tires that incorporate sustainability. Recently, we launched the world’s first eco-friendly tire made from sustainable materials that account for over 40% of inputs. Another example of innovation is deploying technology to keep our global marketing and sales assets vibrant even when the pandemic disrupts markets worldwide.
At the same time, because we were in niche segments focusing on agriculture, construction, and material handling (logistics) that have become more important after the outbreak, we were able to remain relevant. But we had to do much more to cement our brand as a credible one. We assured our customers of steady supplies because we quickly established a goal to continue manufacturing and distribution despite the lockdowns. We developed an evolving business continuity playbook to manage different scenarios to prepare ourselves for the deepening uncertainties. We did this because our customers depended on us, and we had to be there for them. We also used the pandemic to fast track our technology-led transformations, and as a result, we emerged as a resilient company our customers can trust.
At GRI, we have perfected the art of bringing every important element together: people, innovation, technology, investments, and sustainability. We were also in the right place at the right time because our culture, structure and business model made us relevant to our global customer base more than ever before. As a result, we grew our business by more than 25% in 2020 during the height of the pandemic.
You also need to build the right culture and clearly define your values and ensure it becomes part of the DNA
How is the unfolding pandemic impacting GRI’s future?
The pandemic’s spread and impact on global markets are unprecedented in both scale and severity. Uncertainty and volatility are something you have to learn to live with, and you must learn how to be agile and nimble, know when to pivot and have the resilience and courage to stay true to your convictions and core values.
At GRI, it was all about having the right mindset to deal with the pandemic and the multiple crises in its wake. It was about setting goals, being purposeful and results-driven. We embraced the challenges and the new world emerging out of the pandemic, and now we are poised for take-off. Our continuous investment in technology is also helping us improve productivity, sharpen our R&D capabilities, and deepen relationships with customers. In this period of calamity or crisis, we made the bold move to lay the foundations to double capacity and invested in a new mixing plant. So rather than being conservative, we have been aggressive and ambitious. And that required a certain level of fearlessness and courage.
If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to your younger self?
I would tell my younger self to be even more fearless. Being fearless has helped me build GRI into what it is today. You can have all the knowledge, expertise, and access to investments to build a company, but there is a lot at stake and compounded when you are focused on exports. To succeed, you need to trust your gut and be fearless before the many challenges and obstacles that will constantly confront you. That is how you build a global brand out of Sri Lanka.