The Hindu Business Line : Apollo Tyres eyes global acquisition

The company is eyeing certain international companies for acquisition; the company recently acquired the Dunlop plant in South Africa. These investments will be met by internal accruals, Mr Neeraj R.S. Kanwar, Joint Managing Director and COO, Apollo, said.

Apollo's recently acquired land in Tamil Nadu is set for a greenfield facility of trucks and bus radials manufacturing plant. Initially the company will invest Rs 300 crore in the new facility that will be spruced up with an additional investment of Rs 200 crore in a span of two-three years said, Mr Kanwar. The new facility is likely to be in full production within a span of 15-18 months.

Export focus

Besides focus on the domestic market, the company intends having a market share of 45 per cent (15 per cent) in exports by 2010. For export growth, the company is looking at Asia Pacific region and Europe. It is planning to appoint distributors across the region who would promote the recently launched Acelere Sportz a premium V-speed rated (tyre that can go to a speed limit of 240 km/hr) tubeless radial. The new tyre is an all terrain tyre that is ready for Euro norms up to 2009. Apollo has plans to introduce the `Z' rated (tyre that can go to a speed limit of 290 km/hr) Acelere Sportz soon.

The Acelere Sportz is the first asymmetric tyre range (the tread design allows it to maximise performance) that will cater to the A3 plus segment (Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Aveo, Skoda Superb, Mercedes C-class and E-class, etc). It was developed with testing bodies like IDIADA, Spain that helped reduce noise generation in the tyre; ATP, Germany was the testing arm for ride and handling. The company imported moulds from Korea.

Apollo has identified 20 cities and 150 multi-brand dealerships that would promote the brand. The company has a total chain of 1,200 dealerships across the country.

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