Ceat to open marketing, sales units in Europe, US

Ceat Tyres, an RPG Enterprise-promoted company, would soon set up a sales and marketing division in Europe and the US by next year to increase its international footprint.

The move is aimed at improving its export targeted markets mainly from large segments of Europe and the Americas.

Arnab Banerjee, Ceat vice-president (sales and marketing), said, "We are looking to set up a permanent sales and marketing unit in Europe, which would help us to attain better penetration into the markets. We are looking to set up similar units in the US by next year."

The company has also acquired approvals from original equipment manufacturers (OEM) in Europe for supply of radials. Ceat wants to capitalise in the growing sectors of passenger radials and truck and bus radials.

"The company is able to achieve higher realisations in key markets such as Europe, where there has been substantial growth in automobile sales recently, further triggering sales of radial tyres. The company has added 35-40 new products in the past 18 months and will continue to add more products in newer countries in future," he added.

About 25 per cent of the company's aggregate annual revenue (Rs 400-500 crore) comes from exports to 110 countries world-wide. Ceat is aiming to double its export revenues to about Rs 900-1,000 crore in three years.

In December 2006, the company hiked its radial tyre production capacity to 65,000 tyres per month at its Nashik plant, which has taken the total tyre production to over 5.5 million tyre per annum.

In India, the company operates through two manufacturing facilities based in Bhandup and Nashik.