Apollo Tyres has gone ahead and built a new factory in Andhra Pradesh. This is the company’s seventh factory worldwide and fifth in the Indian market. The first tyre too has been rolled out of this facility and this event was virtually unveiled and organised by Onkar S Kanwar, Neeraj Kanwar and the board members. This new factory is spread across 256 acres and is situated in Chinnapanduru village in Chittoor district. In phase 1 of this plant, the company will invest close to Rs 3,800 crore. Production is expected to be ramped up by 2022; the plant will have a capacity of 15,000 passenger car tyres and 3,000 bus as well as truck radial tyres. Officials say that with minimal engineering as well as investment economies, the plant ramp-up will happen. Tyres rolled out from this plant will be supplied both to OEMs as well as the aftermarket requirements.
The bigger news is that this facility is a greenfield one. Energy used for the processes here will be derived from the sun. For this, solar panel set-ups have been accommodated in the roofs. Not only this, but the shop floor will also use maximum sunlight. This plant is also a zero water discharge facility and also gets an in-built effluent treatment system. Environment-friendly coolants too are being used for a majority of the processes.
850 people are already working in this factory and the plant has been set up using 35,000 tonnes of steel. Commenting on the commissioning of AP facility, Onkar S Kanwar, chairman, Apollo Tyres Ltd, said that this facility will be a reflection of the company’s growth aspirations. It will also showcase their manufacturing capabilities and at the same time, showcase the best practices across the globe in tyre manufacturing. This plant being highly automated plant, it uses several IT-driven systems and robotics. It also employs young as well as skilled workers on the shopfloor. These workers have been mostly hired from Andhra Pradesh, thereby promoting employment as well. Onkar also thanked the Andhra Pradesh government for its support.
