Apollo Tyres Archives - Page 39 of 48 - Tyrepress

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Apollo Tyres Aiming for the ‘Top Six’

Apollo Tyres has its eyes on becoming a global top six player within the next five years. Furthermore, by this time it intends to achieve an annual turnover of US$4 to 5 billion.

“Me and my whole team’s desire is to be amongst the top six players of the world in the next five years,” said Apollo Tyres vice chairman and joint managing director Neeraj Kanwar said. When asked how large the company needs to grow in terms of revenue in order to reach this select group, Mr. Kanwar replied: “Well, if you are talking of the top 5-6, their turnover is in excess of US$4-5 billion dollars. The top three players in the world are in higher teens, then is Continental which is in the US$4-6 billion dollar range.”

20th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Seeks Extension on Anti-Dumping Duty to Radials

Apollo Tyres is said be calling upon the Indian government to impose anti-dumping duty upon cheap imported Chinese radials, as these products are hurting consumers. The Press Trust of India news agency has reported Apollo vice-chairman and joint managing director Neeraj Kanwar as saying “what China is doing is coming and dumping huge quantities of tyres because they have capacities lying idle, because they are not being able to export properly to America.

17th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo – We Want to Do Something for Indian Tennis

Apollo Tyres continues to refute suggestions that the company is trying to control tennis in India. According to the Times of India, the company made this point clear on October 14 while stating again it would not give out details of spending on the ‘Mission 2018’ tennis project.

In September the All India Tennis Association (AITA) accused Apollo of launching a misleading advertising campaign, and it asked the company to be more ‘transparent’. The Association demanded information on how much Apollo had so far spent on the programme.

14th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Costs, Prices Continue to Rise for Apollo

Onkar Kanwar, the managing director and chairman of India’s Apollo Tyres, has stated to news sources that the company expects to make another price increase in Q3 of the company’s current financial year (1 April 2008 – 31 March 2009), based on the continuing rise of costs.

“The cost is up and we have to push up the prices,” Onkar Kanwar told journalists, responding, “It is possible,” when asked whether prices will go up in Q3.

In Friday trading the company topped the Bombay Stock Exchange bulk deals table when Kotak Mahindra UK Ac Sandstone Capital India Master Fund bought 8,405,530 shares at 33.25 rupees a share and Morgan Stanley Mauritius Company sold 8,405,530 shares at 33.25 rupees a share.

13th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Tennis Programme Not Just for Brand Awareness, says Apollo

In light of accusations that its programme to nurture up and coming tennis talent is little more than another means by which to promote brand awareness, Apollo Tyres has reiterated that its ‘Apollo Tyres Mission 2018’ scheme is a “programme to identify, nurture and create world-class tennis players in India who will challenge, perform and win on the world stage, with at least one becoming a Singles
Grand Slam champion by the year 2018.”

The All India Tennis Association (AITA), however, views the Apollo programme differently. According to AITA secretary Anil Khanna, the company is doing little in the name of tennis development and is instead using the programme as an opportunity to promote its own brand. In a letter to Apollo Tyres the AITA asked the company to be “transparent” and reveal how much it has to date spent on Apollo Tyres Mission 2018, a scheme the tyre maker claims to have earmarked Rs 1 billion (£11.6 million) for. Apollo says it is unable to provide details of any money so far spent.

30th September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Official Quoted as Saying Gyöngyös Site Still an Option

Truth or fiction? Indian media outlet DNA has quoted an unnamed ‘senior’ Apollo Tyres official as saying the company has not put a stop to its planned Gyöngyös, Hungary. “The Hungarian plant is only delayed, not cancelled yet,” said the official. “We could go back to that plant.” The nameless Apollo official added the company was, however, simultaneously looking at other locations in Europe, just in case the Hungarian facility doesn’t materialise.

5th September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Factory Lockout Over

The lockout at the Apollo Tyres facility in the Indian state of Kerala is reportedly over, with employees resuming work as of September 3. Troubles at the company’s Perambra cross-ply truck and bus tyre factory began on August 16 following a strike staged by workers two days earlier. Apollo, who experienced a daily production loss of Rs 50 million (£618,000) as a result of the lockout, had earlier requested local government intervention to resolve the standoff.

3rd September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Launches ‘Technology Benchmark’ Cross-Ply Tyre

More than 65 per cent of the revenue generated by India’s tyre industry is derived from commercial vehicle tyres, and in this segment Apollo Tyres holds claim to being the clear market leader. The subcontinent is witnessing a gradual shift in usage trends, and while radialisation is beginning to make its presence felt, customers still reliant upon cross-ply technology also seek to benefit from improvements that deliver a better cost-per-kilometre ratio.

2nd September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Construction of Apollo Chennai Factory to Start by Late October

A company source indicates the new Apollo Tyres greenfield radial facility in preparation on the outskirts of Chennai, India, will enter operation late next year. The Hindu Business Line newspaper was informed that the plant’s first construction phase will commence by the end of October at a cost of 10 billion rupees (£125.7 million). Overall, development of the 135 acre site, which will deliver a daily capacity of 200 tonnes, will cost 22 billion rupees (£276.5 million).

The source further commented that Apollo has become a “high-performance company” and the leading Indian tyre manufacturer with revenues of over US$1.2 billion. “It is built around the core principles of creating stakeholder value through reliability in its products and dependability in its relationships,” he said. The company has a network of over 4,000 dealerships in India, of which over 2,500 are exclusive outlets. In South Africa, it has over 900 dealerships, of which 190 are Dunlop Zones, the source added.

2nd September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Begins Quest for New Factory Site in Hungary, Slovakia

Apollo Tyres will begin its search for possible new sites for its European factory at the start of September. According to the company’s public relations agent in Hungary, sites both in Hungary and Slovakia will be considered.

The site assessment process is expected to take several months, the agent said. Meanwhile, twenty-seven Hungarian towns have voiced an interest in hosting the tyre manufacturing facility. The trade promotion organisation International Trade and Development Hungary has forwarded information on a number of sites to the tyremaker’s Hungarian agency, and the level of direct contact it is receiving from local governments in Slovakia is increasing.

29th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Seeks Government Help Over Lockout

Management at Apollo Tyres, who instigated a lockout at the company’s factory in Kerala, India, are now seeking local government intervention. According to local media sources, the lockout was declared at 1am on August 16 in response to a strike by workers that began two days earlier.

“We feel it is only the labour ministry in the state that can intervene and settle the issue, because even after making an additional capital investment of Rs 150 million (£1.86 million) three months ago, production has not gone up,” an Apollo Tyres official told the Indo-Asian News Service, requesting anonymity.

19th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

26 More Hungarian Municipalities ‘Interested’ in Apollo Tyre Factory

The Hungarian Ministry of Economy and National Development has announced that a total twenty-seven Hungarian municipalities have signed a letter of intent to become the new site for Apollo Tyres’ new 200 million tyre factory. The announcement follows earlier reports that the Hungarian region of Polgar was interested in hosting the factory.

According to the Hungarian government, the joint declaration was signed by the municipalities of Ajka, Bábolna, Érd, Hatvan, Heves, Isaszeg, Jászberény, Kalocsa, Kapuvár, Kazincbarcika, Kiskunfélegyháza, Komló, Maklár, Marcali, Mezőkövesd, Mezőtúr, Miskolc, Mosonmagyaróvár, Nagyatád, Nagykanizsa, Polgár, Szeged, Szentes, Sziksza, Szolnok, Zagyvarékas and Záhony.

19th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Tyres unit shut down

A lock-out was declared at Apollo Tyres’ facility in Kerala on August 16, reportedly due to a lack of production and strike action from a portion of the workforce. According to a company spokesman, the lock out began in the morning. The factory had recently undergone a £1.86 million overhaul to increase capacity from 280 to 318 tonnes, however the strike meant that the company could not implement an increase to the new full capacity.

18th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Hungarian City ‘Invites’ Apollo Factory Bid

The Hungarian city of Polgar, has reportedly invited a bid for Apollo Tyres to build a 200 million euro factory there after the Indian company withdrew its application to locate the project in Gyongyos (North Hungary) after delays in acquiring permits and a planned local referendum on the plant. “Located along motorway M3, Polgar and its industrial park would offer excellent basic infrastructure and a 50-hectare area to the project,” Polgar’s mayor told the media.

18th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Apollo Drops Hungarian Factory Plans

A question mark now hangs over Apollo Tyres’ future direction in Hungary following the company’s decision to withdraw its application to establish a facility in the city of Gyöngyös. Apollo planned to build a greenfield operation to house its European Manufacturing and High Technology Centre, however delays and local opposition has dampened the company’s enthusiasm for the project. This news comes barely a fortnight after Apollo admitted production at the facility would not feasibly begin before 2010 because of hold-ups in the land acquisition and regulatory clearance process.

15th August 2008/by Tyrepress Editors