Apollo breaks ground on seventh greenfield tire plant

Andhra Pradesh, India – Apollo Tyres has broken ground on its seventh manufacturing facility: a unit in Chinnapanduru in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

In a ceremonial foundation stone laying event, the Indian tire maker announced 9 Jan that it would be investing INR18 billion (€240 million) in the first phase of the plant, which will be built on a land of 200 acres.

The construction will start within the next six months, said Apollo, adding that tires are expected to start rolling out of the facility in the following 24 months.

The company plans to start with manufacturing of passenger vehicle tires, to meet growing demand in this segment.

At a later stage, the plant is to be expanded to manufacture other tire categories.

The plant is expected to create 700 jobs.

Apollo Tyres currently has four manufacturing facilities in India -- two (including a leased facility) in the rubber-producing state of Kerala, and one each in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.

Outside of India, the company has a manufacturing facility in The Netherlands and in Hungary.