Apollo Tyres Outlines Global Top 10 Ambitions

Apollo chairman, Onkar S Kanwar is not one to avoid big statements when it comes to talking up Apollo Tyre’s ambitions. The Gurgaon-based company is currently estimated to be worth Rs 4,985-crore (£627 million) and is in an expansion mode. While the firm already has a presence in Europe and Africa, it seems it is continuing to look for acquisitions outside India as a route to increasing its presence in the global market.

“We are looking out, we have the appetite to acquire companies with synergies outside India,” Kanwar states, though he is unwilling to divulge further information on the subject. In March, 2009, Kanwar acquired Netherlands-based Vredestein Banden, which manufactures high-end passenger car tyres and it seems the focus of the company is to expand global reach through both organic and inorganic growth. “We want to grow and we are looking at organic and inorganic growth,” he said.

Apollo is also building a greenfield plant near Channai with an initial capacity of 150 tonnes. The plant is expected to be operational by the end of the year. The company also has plants in South Africa, though currently about 70 per cent of its revenues come from India.

Kanwar did mention that the target is to touch a turnover of $2 billion by 2011. “We want to expand and be among the top ten tyre manufacturers across the globe in the next five years,” he said, adding that the company’s position is sixteenth at present. Apollo has been focusing heavily on the replacement tyre market both in India and outside India with 75 per cent of the revenue coming from this segment. However, Kanwar said that the export market, which had been affected by the global slowdown, is yet to pick up.