Natural Rubber

Eastern Merchants is clearly the market leader in RSS exports from Sri Lanka. We source our RSS from the extensive dealer network we have developed in the country as well as from private estates and through the local rubber auctions. RSS is predominantly used in the manufacture of tires, but is also utilized in industrial applications such as automotive parts, beadings etc. It is manufactured by diluting liquid latex with water and formic acid. The resulting coagulum is then passed through rollers to form very thin individual sheets. These sheets are then transferred to a smoking chamber and smoked dried for a couple of days. After smoking, the sheets are taken out for sorting and are graded prior to it being sent to market.

There are four grades of RSS rubber that is shipped out of Sri Lanka – RSS1, RSS3, RSS4 and RSS5. Apart from Sri Lankan material, we can also supply RSS rubber from Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Indonesia.

This grade of rubber is widely utilised in many manufacturing processes including adhesives & adhesive tapes, pharmaceutical & medical appliances, tubes and chewing gum.

We are proud to be one of the premier shippers of TPC which is a grade of natural rubber that is manufactured only in Sri Lankan. TPC is also known as a latex grade and is manufactured in a carefully controlled process by passing fresh coagulated latex several times through heavy rollers known as crepers to form latex laces. These latex laces are then air dried at ambient temperature in drying towers. Once dried they are sent through heavy rollers again to form uniform sheets of TPC. Once manufactured the crepe is graded according to color and appearance.

There are five grades of TPC that is currently being produced and shipped out of Sri Lanka. They are TPC1X, TPC1, TPC2, TPC3 and TPC4.

This is a highly specialized grade of rubber used in the pharmaceutical and plastics industries and is currently only produced in Sri Lanka.

Thin pale crepe is also a latex grade and is manufactured in a very similar process to Thick Pale Crepe or TPC. Fresh coagulated latex is passed several times through heavy rollers known as crepers to form latex laces and these latex laces are then air dried at ambient temperature in drying towers. Once dried these laces are bundles into 25kg and 50kg bales. Unlike TPC Thin Pale crepe is only made to order and cannot be purchased at the auction.

Apart from latex based TPC and thin pale crepe grades, we can also supply our buyers with latex-based block rubber grades out of Sri Lanka, which includes SLR 5, SLR 10 and SLR 20. We can also source block rubber grades from other origins including Malaysia (SMR CV50, SMR CV60, SMR L, SMR 5, SMR 10, SMR 20), Thailand (STR 10, STR 20, STR 5L), Vietnam (SVR 3L, SVR 5L, SVR CV50, SVR CV60) Cambodia (SCR 3L, SCR5, SCR10) and Indonesia (SIR 3L, SIR 10, SIR 20). Most of these grades are manufactured to order only.

We have handpicked all our suppliers from each of the origins after having done extensive research and having personally visited their manufacturing facilities.

As the term implies, Sole Crepe is a special form of latex crepe used in shoe soles and is arguably the most expensive grade of natural rubber in the world. It commands a higher value than Pale Crepe grades in view of its very precise manufacturing process and it being regarded as a finished product as opposed to an intermediate product.

Sole Crepe can be produced in smooth or pebbly finishes, and in thicknesses varying from 3-12mm. Sole Crepe could also be made in a variety of different colours by the addition of suitable dyes. It is widely used in the shoe industry to manufacture many different varieties of footwear and provides the best grip on ice of any known synthetic or natural rubber. It also prevents the buildup of static electricity generated as a result of the abrasion of shoes soles on rough surfaces.

Inferior in quality to the Thick Pale Crepe grades, this grade is used in the manufacture of door mats, rubber beadings and auto parts.

Brown crepe is manufactured from cup lumps and scraps of field coagulum that are generated as by products on the rubber plantations. This material is washed and cleaned and passed through power wash mills to produce laces which are then air dried at ambient temperature in drying towers. Once dried they are sent through heavy rollers again to form uniform sheets of Brown Crepe. Once manufactured the crepe is graded according to color and appearance.

The main grade of Brown crepe manufactured in Sri Lanka is known as 3X brown Crepe.

This low quality grade is generally mixed with other rubber grades to manufacture products such as conveyor belts.

Skim Crepe is a crinkly lace rubber, obtained when coagulated latex or any form of field coagulum (tree lace, shell scrap, earth scrap etc.) is passed several times through heavy rollers called crepers and then air dried at ambient temperature. Skim crepe generally has a lower rubber content than the other grades of rubber.

Field latex is centrifuged to manufacture a latex concentrate with a 60% Dry Rubber Content (DRC). Centrifuged latex is commercially available in two different varieties – high ammonia latex and low ammonia Latex. We can supply latex from multiple origins and it is generally shipped in flexi-bags and steel drums.

Centrifuged latex is widely utilised in many industries, and is used to manufacture various products including surgical and industrial gloves, foam mattresses, balloons and condoms.