Established in 1972, Apollo Tyres has become a formidable name in the tyre industry in its four decades of journey. Its first plant was commissioned in Perambra, Kerala. Over the years, the company has grown manifold and emerged as a multinational enterprise. In-depth research, designing capabilities, cutting edge manufacturing and utilising highly advanced machinery in large state-of-the-art plants go into producing superior quality tyres at Apollo.
Today the company has manufacturing presence in three continents, that is, Asia, Europe and Africa, with nine modern manufacturing facilities and exports to over 100 countries. Apollo acquired Dunlop Tyres International in 2006 and renamed it as Apollo Tyres South Africa (Pty) Limited. It manufactures tyres across the segments with rights to market Dunlop in 32 African countries.
The company’s manufacturing units are spread across the globe with one in South Africa, two in Zimbabwe and one in Netherlands.
The company has made inroads into the European tyre market through the acquisition of the Netherlandsbased Vredestein Banden BV (Now Apollo Vredestein BV), better known for its Vredestein branded winter tyres (wider high performance tyres). Apollo’s distribution network has strong presence with a network of over 4,000 dealerships across the country, of which over 2,500 are exclusive outlets.
Powered by its key brands – Apollo and Vredestein – the company offers a comprehensive product portfolio spread across passenger cars, light trucks, buses and bicycle tyres, retreading material and retreaded tyres. Apollo Tyres is an original equipment (OE) supplier to almost all the global brands that entered the country in recent years. It has emerged as a significant player in the tyre industry globally and became a brand of choice, providing customer delight and continuously enhancing stakeholders’ value.
With the expanding reach of the Apollo tyres, the company’s turnover too has been growing. In the Financial Year 2012-13, Apollo Tyres clocked a turnover of $2.34 billion, backed by a global workforce of approximately 16,000 employees.
As recognition for its emphasis on quality, Apollo Tyres was awarded the ‘Best Quality Systems’ award among large industries category. Now, Apollo Tyres is all set for the next phase of growth which will be driven by its already announced Greenfield plant in Eastern Europe.
