Apollo Tyres resurrects Eastern Europe plans - reports

ERJ staff report (DS)

Mumbai, India -- A string of reports coming out of India following Apollo Tyres' results press conference on Friday suggest that the company is re-examining its tyre manufacturing capacity in Europe. A key part of the approach is the prospect of a car tyre factory in the former eastern Europe.

Prior to its acquisition of Vredestein a couple of years ago, Apollo was close to signing a deal in either Hungary or Slovakia for a greenfield car tyre factory. Following the Vredestein acquisition, Apollo announced a small expansion at its Enschede, Netherlands facility, but at the time local staff recommended a much bigger expansion. The reports from India suggest that Apollo is now seeking more capacity in Europe, with either a greenfield plant or an acquisition in Eastern Europe.

The Economic Times quoted Apollo chairman Onkar S Kanwar saying, "We are looking at geographies like Eastern Europe, Indonesia for new plants. First, we will have our factory in Eastern Europe where the labour cost is low and the factory can run for longer hours as in India."

The Hindu quoted Neeraj Kanwar, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, saying the project “is only at a planning stage.”

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