Apollo Tyres leases 10,000 hectares in Laos for rubber plantation

KOCHI: With the domestic tyre industry facing a crisis due to the global shortage of natural rubber, Apollo Tyres Ltd has taken on lease about 10,000 hectares of land in Laos, in South-East Asia, for rubber plantation, a top company official said.

ATL (rpt) ATL is the first Indian company to acquire a property for growing rubber. It would take 2-7 years for the yield to be tapped, ATL (rpt) ATL Chairman and Managing Director Onkar S Kanwar told reporters here last night after a meeting of the company's board of directors.

Apollo's largest unit is situated at Limda, in Gujarat, and its two other units are at Perambra and Kalamassery, Kerala. Its latest next generation plant is near Chennai and the four together have a combined production capacity of around 1,180 tonnes of tyres a day in India.

In South Africa, the Ladysmith and Durban plants account for a combined capacity of around 180 tonnes and the Enschede plant in the Netherlands adds another 180 tonnes a day, taking its total current production capacity to around 1,550 tonnes a day.

Kanwar said Apollo will invest Rs 500 crore this fiscal on its units in India and abroad. Of this, 6 million euros would be invested in Europe, USD 30 million in South Africa and the rest in India, he said.

The company will pump Rs 40 crore into its Perambra unit, in Chalakudy, and Premier Tyre facility, at nearby Kalamassery.

The rest would be utilised for capacity augmentation at the Chennai plant, which manufacturers tyres for trucks and cars.

The plant capacity would be enhanced to produce 6,000 tyres per day for trucks, compared to 3,000 at present, and 16,000 cars tyres per day, as against 8000 at present, Apollo Tyres Vice Chairman and Managing Director Neeraj Kanwar said.

The company aims to become one of the top 10 global tyre companies in the next five years.

On the industrial climate in Kerala, where Apollo declared a lockout some months ago at its Perambra unit, he said both plants are doing well. By and large, labour was good. But in Chennai and Gujarat, there was very a different environment, he said.

He denied reports that the company had plans to shift one of its units in Kerala to Gujarat due to the labour troubles.

India is Apollo Tyres' largest market, accounting for 62 per cent of revenues, while Europe contributes 25 per cent and South Africa 13 per cent. The company exports tyres to over 70 countries from India, Europe and South Africa, Apollo Tyres Chief - India Operations Satish Sharma said.

Apollo Tyres sets up Middle East hub in Dubai

DUBAI: India's leading tyre manufacturer, Apollo Tyres, has set up a new Middle East operations hub in Dubai, it has been announced here.

Apollo Tyres is the 18th firm to move to The Galleries' A-grade offices and retail facilities in Dubai's Jabel Ali this year and brings the number of international and local businesses currently based there or undergoing fit-out to almost 50.

More leasing contracts are in the pipeline and the potential is limitless, the developer of the project said in a statement.

Apollo Tyres joins China National Petroleum,Siemens, Arup, L'Oreal, Ericsson,Kraft Food, SPX Corporation and dozens of other firms at The Galleries, where 395,000 square feet -- over 50 per cent -- of the total available office space is now taken.

Satish Sharma, Apollo Tyres' Chief of Operations in India, said the Middle East currently accounts for almost a third of the company's revenues from tyre exports out of India and Dubai itself is the region's biggest tyre distribution hub.

"Our new office at The Galleries cements our commitment to Dubai -- where we also have a 10,000-square foot tyre storage facility -- and enables us to boost our business across the region by addressing the growing needs of our customers here," Sharma said.

Tenants at The Galleries get the option of a Free Zone licence, an onsite Metro station, nearly 2,000 underground parking spaces and dedicated facilities management and tenant relations teams.

Bahaa Abouhatab, Project Director at The Galleries, said: "The arrival of yet another leading international firm at The Galleries further highlights its position as one of the UAE's key business locations. Our growing Galleries community now has almost 50 tenants, with more on the way, and we are delighted to welcome Apollo Tyres on board."

The Galleries is less than an hour by car from Abu Dhabi and just 200 metres from the Jebel Ali Metro station. The development sits on 215,000 square feet of landscaped, communal grounds.