Apollo Tyres Appoints Chief of Research & Technology

Peter Becker, former senior manager at Goodyear Dunlop Germany, has been appointed Chief, Research and Technology at Apollo Tyres Ltd. He has formally joined the company this month and will be leading Apollo Tyres’ initiatives in tyre technology, research and new product development, especially with regard to European market needs. Mr Becker will be based in Germany, where he will be responsible for establishing an R&D facility for Apollo Tyres. He will be working with Apollo’s research, technology and design teams across geographical locations in India, South Africa and Europe. The company has previously announced plans for a 200 million euro passenger car radial tyre manufacturing facility in Hungary.

According to a company statement, the appointment forms part of Apollo Tyres Ltd’s ongoing plans for the European market. Peter Becker commented: “I am excited by this opportunity and impressed by the possibilities the future holds with Apollo Tyres. I am positive that we will be able to bring out competitive products which address customer needs.”

Peter Becker, who is understood to be India at the moment, joins Apollo Tyres from Goodyear Dunlop Germany, where he was the Senior Manager Tyre Development (passenger, light truck and 4×4 tyres) for the past seven years. Prior to this, he spent 15 years in various positions of leadership at the Sumitomo Group’s testing facility SP Reifenwerke GmbH at Hanau, apart from three years developing special vehicles at Opel AG. Becker hold’s a German Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and as part of his education spent time as an apprentice at Deutsche Lufthansa AG studying aircraft mechanics.