If you cast your mind back to before 2009’s Apollo/Vredestein merger deal was announced there was much talk about plans for the construction of a greenfield tyre production plant in Hungary. Newspaper reports published at the time suggested that Apollo had earmarked around 200 million euros for this. Most observers interpreted the Vredestein purchase as being a substitute for the Greenfield plans, but bearing in mind that the pricetag was reported as being just US$ 50 million in June 2010, it raises the question of what was done with the rest of the money. The short answer is that Apollo executives say they have invested it in the construction and rapid development of its Chennai manufacturing facility, which had a budget of around 350 million euros before the firm decided to further its plans for truck and bus radial tyre production last year. Anything else looks like to have been absorbed by the company’s liabilities. However, regarding the Chennai investment Tyres & Accessories recently had the opportunity to tour the facility, see production in action and learn more about the thinking behind the investment.