APOLLO TYRES LTD HAS TAKEN ON LEASE-10,000 HECTARES OF LAND FOR RUBBER PLANTATION

APOLLO TYRES LTD

HAS TAKEN ON LEASE-10,000 HECTARES OF LAND FOR RUBBER PLANTATION

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. APL is the first Indian company to acquire a property for growing rubber. It would take 2-7 years for the yield to be tapped, APL 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.

                                                                      Prof. John Kurakar