A truly spiritual person at heart and a keen interest in Buddhism and ancient Indian philosophy would be some ways to describe P P Perera (P P), who works as the Sri Lankan representative for Pin 365. He believes in interlinking his learnings from spirituality and using it to live a blissful life. He recently obtained his Master’s Degree in Buddhist Studies from the Nagananda International Institute for Buddhist Studies, Sri Lanka.

P P believes in continual learning and plans to utilise the knowledge in promoting productivity through spirituality in business organisations by conducting a series of webinars.

Pin 365 gets talking to P P Perera to gain insights into his spiritual journey.

Why did you want to do a Master’s degree in the subject?

P P: Apart from my primary and secondary education, most of my professional knowledge that I have acquired was from self-studies and non-academic learnings. At this later stage of my life, I felt a need to do something new. I am a Buddhist by birth, and thereby my interest in studying Buddhism was not new. I was somewhat influenced by ancient Indian philosophy and Hindu mythology. Buddhism emerged in India in the 6th century BC. I was curious to learn more about it and have been doing so since the late ’80s. However, it was during the last two years that I found time to devote to studying Buddhism deeply. It wasn’t the popular Buddhism that is taught or preached to the masses in temples, but the philosophy and psychological aspects of it. The same applies to Hinduism, whose philosophy is great but was later distorted and misinterpreted for various reasons

How has the journey of completing the Master ‘s degree been and how did the course elevate you spiritually or in the materialistic life?

P P: It was tough, yet challenging and interesting. Reading the canonical texts and modern literature by learned people in the field and those of the West was exhilarating. We would find the relationships, interconnectedness of living beings as well as the ethical, social, and economical aspects. Most people interpret spirituality as something that must be practised away from their day-to-day life by going to retreats. On the contrary, Buddhist teachings show a practical way for those who want to live a good worldly life as well as an alternate path that aims at higher liberation.

From where did you do the Master’s degree?

P P: I did my Master’s Degree in Buddhist Studies from Nagananda International Institute of Buddhist Studies, Sri Lanka, which is a private university, with foreign students as well as local students from far.

Will you seek more knowledge or wisdom in the same subject?

P P: I believe in learning from cradle to grave and shall seek to gain further knowledge. More importantly, making use of the knowledge for educating others should be the goal at this stage of life. Afterall, I have been conducting lectures on Rubber Technology  since 1979 and Management  since 2000. (TT)

LANXESS, a specialty chemicals company, has successfully placed a six-year-tenor euro benchmark bond with a coupon of 0.0 percent in the European capital market.
The company, with about 14,800 employees in 33 countries, will use the funds to finance the planned acquisition of IFF, a US-based chemical company involved in microbial control.

The new bond is listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange in denominations of EUR 1,000.

Michael Pontzen, CFO, LANXESS, said, “We have secured the first step of financing already quickly after the announcement of the acquisition of IFF Microbial Control and are happy about the very receptive reaction of the capital market to our offering.” (TT)

Goodyear has launched its new RT-3B bead-to-bead tread in US and Canada in sizes 20.5R25 and 23.5R25 for off-the-road (OTR) tyres.

The new retread provides all-around performance for loaders and graders. Joining the existing lineup of premium off-the-road Goodyear tyres, the retread provides up to 60 percent savings compared to a new tyre.

Used extensively in gruelling OTR applications, retreading helps extend the life of tyres while delivering high traction and minimal tread wear. Additionally, retreading promotes sustainability by reducing unnecessary waste.

The new Goodyear RT-3B is cured in a mould and press method to generate low heat through long hours of usage via its 115-level tread depth. Strongly cut-resistant in nature, the centerline lugs and open shoulder provides optimal traction.

Loic Ravasio, General Manager, Global and Americas OTR, Goodyear, said, “We are always focused on delivering high value and low cost of ownership to our OTR customers. The RT-3B is a substantial addition to our retread portfolio providing another great option for operators to help drive efficiency, reduce costs and protect the environment.” (TT)

Anshuman Singhania, Dy. Managing Director of JK Tyre, has been appointed managing director of the company, effective October 21,2020.

Anshuman Singhania joined the Company as an Executive and over the years has been deeply involved in various activities of the Company in different positions, said the company.

Singhania is also Vice Chairman of ATMA

He is a graduate from Oxford Brookes University, UK and an alumnus of London Business School. As a young leader, he started his career from the shop floor as an apprentice and has held several positions in Planning, Production, Product Development, Quality Control, Stores & Purchase, Finance as well as Sales & Marketing. Being a techno-savvy person, he has played a key role in implementing the latest technologies in the manufacturing process at JK Tyre.

Yokohama Off-Highway Tires recently held the groundbreaking and foundation stone unveiling ceremony of its new plant at Atchutapuram, Visakhapatnam - Andhra Pradesh, India.

In the online event, Masataka Yamaishi , President & Chairman of the Board, Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd broke the ground to commence construction work.

Yamaishi San unveiled the Foundation Stone virtually in the presence of Atao Kishi San: Chairman - ATC Tires Pvt. Ltd. and Managing Officer - The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., Nitin Mantri – CEO and Anil Gupta – COO and the leadership team at Yokohama Off-Highway Tires.

The new plant will have a daily production capacity of 55 tons (rubber weight), with planned capital investment totalling US$165 million. The plant, which will be the company’s third plant in India, will manufacture its three brands ALLIANCE, GALAXY and PRIMEX brand tyres.

 Yokohama Off-Highway Tires currently has two tyre plants in India—the Dahej Plant in Gujarat and the Tirunelveli Plant in Tamil Nadu.