Apollo Vredestein has been named one of The Netherland’s best employers. The Best Employer (Beste Werkgevers) 2013 awards were presented in Amsterdam on 8 October, and the tyre maker was ranked the third best employer in the 1,000+ employee category, behind airline KLM and non-profit organisation Stichting Buurtzorg.
In its 2012-13 annual report, Apollo Vredestein B.V. has reported net sales of €425.5 million, a result comparable with its 2011-12 sales of €426.9 million. In terms of volume, passenger car tyre sales declined four per cent, and agricultural tyres decreased 11 per cent. However, the company’s market share went up – the Dutch manufacturer says the total replacement consumer tyre market in Europe for the 2012-2013 financial year was down 13 per cent – and a better sales mix resulted in higher average sales prices.
Apollo Vredestein’s new European distribution centre recently entered service. Located in Staalsteden, near the company’s Enschede plant, the centre has the capacity to store 500,000 tyres. The company says the additional storage space is needed to accommodate growing production and sales volumes, combined with a wider product range.
On 18 June 2013 Apollo Vredestein Introduced its latest UHP winter tyre. The Wintrac xtreme S was designed in cooperation with Italian design house Giugiaro; a partnership that also led to the success of products such as the Ultrac Sessanta and Ultrac Vorti. To celebrate 15 years of cooperation, the introduction of the Wintrac xtreme S took place in Turin, the home of Italdesign Giugiaro and the hub of the automotive industry. The “style” element also explains why the latest version of the xtreme features an “S” in its name.
In addition to debuting its Alnac 4G, Apollo Tyres has released its latest Vredestein-branded product at the Geneva Motor Show. This new Apollo Vredestein release is the Ultrac Vorti R, an ultra high performance tyre with an “increased focus on grip and sportiness.” The Ultrac Vorti R was developed in collaboration with Italian design house, Giugiaro.
The deadlock between the striking workers and management of Apollo Tyres Ltd continues with both the parties not reaching a consensus over the issue of recognition of the new union at the company's plant at Waghodia, Gujurat, India, reports the online site Business Standard.
The strike, now in its tenth day, is likely to intensify further as workers have decided to go on a daily fast followed by a hunger strike. On the other hand, the company management has intimated to the labour commissioner that they are averse to the idea of recognising the union called Bhartiya Majdoor Sangh (BMS) formed at the plant.
Apollo Vredestein has announced its involvement in research into sources of natural rubber as a partner in the EU-PEARLS project. The objective of the project is to find a European alternative to Hevea brasiliensis-derived natural rubber. The tyre maker notes that replacing natural rubber with a synthetic variant is not always a practical consideration for tyre makers, and with demand for natural rubber continuing to rise, other sources are becoming increasingly attractive. The threat to rubber trees posed by diseases such as South American Leaf Blight provides additional incentive to find an alternative.
Apollo Vredestein has introduced its new ultra high performance summer tyre in Budapest, the Ultrac Vorti. The tyre, like the simultaneously launched Sportrac 5, has been designed by Italian company Giugiaro for a sporty, distinctive appearance. Vredestein says the Y-indexed tyre excels in terms of grip, handling and braking on both dry and wet surfaces. The Ultrac Vorti name was also created by Giugiaro, inspired by the powerful vortex air flow that is generated, for example, when a helicopter takes off. The name reflects the speeds and forces that the Ultrac Vorti can handle, rated for up to 300kmh, while the tread is reminiscent of the tips of helicopter blades.
Apollo Vredestein is in Budapest this week, as it launches two new UHP tyres under the Vredestein brand. The Sportrac 5 is the successor to the successful Sportrac 3, which won the ADAC 2011 summer tyre test. The Sportrac 5 is marketed on its quietness, stability and sportiness, offering excellent handling on both wet and dry surfaces. Its size range is designed to provide fitments on upper medium cars. The company notes that the name Sportrac 4 has not been used in order to prevent confusion with Vredestein’s all-season tyres.
Earlier this year, Tyres & Accessories reported on one tyre maker's installation of a tread depth measurement unit at its premises in the Netherlands. Similar equipment may become a familiar sight to British motorists in the future – and not everybody is pleased about this.
Before you next gripe, Jeremy Clarkson-style, that the bus is a slow and cumbersome form of transport worthy of your finest sneer, you should take the time to acquaint yourself with the Superbus project. The 15 metre long, 23 seat vehicle is now under development and its Dutch builder claims a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph) for the vehicle. The first Superbus prototype was presented in Dubai on the opening day of the World Exhibition of the International Association of Public Transport on April 10, 2011, and project developer Superbus B.V. aims to have the high speed vehicle ready for commercial use in 2015. To keep the bus rolling at its anticipated top speed the company is drawing upon support in the tyre department from Apollo Vredestein.
A new addition to Vredestein’s Quatrac all-season family, first established in 2007 with the Quatrac 3, is scheduled for release at the Geneva International Motor Show. This new product, the Quatrac Lite, is described by Apollo Vredestein as being “revolutionary” and the “first ‘green’ all-season tyre.” In announcing its imminent launch the tyre maker says the Quatrac Lite “meets all the environmental regulations due to be implemented across the European Union in 2012, and is focused on fuel efficiency.” Apollo Vredestein further comments that the new range “meets the premium quality and safety standards for which Vredestein is renowned.”
During recent years Vredestein has steadily built up its Eastern European business and overseen this region from its operation in Poland, which was established three years ago. Now, from January 1, 2011 onwards, Apollo Vredestein’s markets in Eastern Europe and the CIS will also be serviced by a second “Area Manager Export”, who will take on the responsibility of building up the company’s activities and structure within the region. Stepping into this role is Thomas Mittendorf, who is currently Apollo Vredestein’s public relations and media manager. Mittendorf explained to Tyres & Accessories that he will mainly take care of tyre markets in the Baltic States, the Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Belarus – markets where Apollo Vredestein currently operates no marketing organisation of its own.
At the same time Apollo Tyres introduced its moniker to the European markets at the Essen Reifen Show, the Indian company was also introducing the Vredestein name to its domestic customer base ahead of a launch taking place in the next 12 months. "We are working on launching the Vredestein brand in India. We will look at introducing it within a year… We have been studying the demands of the Indian market in the premium segment. The only thing is that in India, tyres are of low-level and heavier ones, and more in the mass segment," the Press Trust of India quoted Apollo Vredestein chief executive officer Rob Oudshoorn as saying.
Apollo Vredestein has announced it will use the Reifen Essen show as a platform to introduce the newest addition to its winter tyre line-up, the Vredestein Wintrac Nextreme. The design of this successor to the Wintrac Xtreme comes from Italy’s Giugiaro, and the tyre is intended to compete in the ultra high performance segment.
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