Minister Bandula Gunawardena tours LAUGFS Corporation rubber plant in Horana

Minister of Trade, Dr. Bandula Gunawardena visited the LAUGFS Corporation (Rubber) Plant in Horana on October 6. The minister was welcomed by the Group Chairman of LAUGFS Holdings Limited, W. K. H. Wegapitiya, Group Deputy Chairman, Thilak De Silva and Group Managing Director/GCEO, Piyadasa Kudabalage.

Sri Lanka has been able to become a significant player among global rubber exporters with rubber being a key agriculture product and economic export crop. Identifying the business potential in this lucrative industry, LAUGFS Holdings diversified into the rubber industry in 2008 through the establishment of LAUGFS Corporation (Rubber) Ltd., which is specialised in manufacturing industrial solid tyres. The Minister toured the LAUGFS Rubber factory in Horana; and obtained a detailed overview of the manufacturing facility.

With the core pillars of cutting edge technology, sustainable processes and strong ethics, LAUGFS Rubber currently operates one of the most modern and eco-friendly manufacturing plants in the country. The plant in Horana produces a full spectrum of industrial tyres including industrial solid tyres which are used for material handling, construction, mining and support equipment for a multitude of industrial operations. Bolstering these capacities are LAUGFS Rubber’s highly skilled workforce and heavy focus on research and development, including its fully fledged tyre and accessory design facility. In January of 2020 LAUGFS (Corporation) Rubber, unveiled the latest addition to its product portfolio with the Super Solid Loader Grip Tyre, the largest tyre manufactured in Sri Lanka.

LAUGFS Rubber concentrates on maintaining sustainable eco-friendly operations, its facility is outfitted with several environmentally friendly technologies including solar panels for electricity generation, an effluent treatment plant for recycling factory waste and rainwater collection to be used in the manufacturing process.

With a strong commitment to quality and environmentally sound manufacturing practices, LAUGFS Rubber has received the ISO 9001-2015 certification for policy management, ISO 50001-2011 certification for energy management and ISO 14001-2015 for environment management and utilizes globally recognised Total Quality Management (TQM) processes to produce Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) compliant solid tyres of international standards. LAUGFS Rubber tyres are exported to over 36 countries across 6 continents including the United States and Europe and the organization maintains overseas distributions offices in Illinois, USA and Florijnweg, Netherlands.

LAUGFS Corporation (Rubber) Ltd. is planning to construct the second line of production, by adding a new solid tyre plant, which would expand the factory capacity and double its current output. This project is estimated to be completed in two years. In addition to that an industrial pneumatic tyre plant is in the pipelines. The company has already taken steps to expand its distribution network by appointing three new distributors in France, UAE and the West Coast of USA.

LAUGFS Holdings Limited is one of the largest diversified business conglomerates and a trusted and well-loved home-grown business in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1995, LAUGFS today has expanded across 20 industries in Sri Lanka and overseas, establishing a strong presence as a leader and pioneer in the power and energy, retail, industrial, services, leisure and logistics sectors. With 3,500 employees and an annual turnover exceeding Rs. 60 billion, LAUGFS continues to expand and empower millions as a trusted Sri Lankan brand.