24th anniversary - june 2017

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INDIAN RUBBER JOURNAL • INTERNATIONAL RUBBER JOURNAL

24th ANNIVERSARY • JUNE 2017 • VOLUME 183 • Vis i t IRJ at www.ir journal .com

Vis i t IRJ at TYREXPO India 2017, Chennai - Hal l No 1, Stal l No L19.

Onkar S KanwarChairman &

Managing Director

Neeraj R S KanwarVice Chairman & Managing Director

INTERVIEW

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INDIAN - INTERNATIONAL RUBBER JOURNAL24TH ANNIVERSARY-JUNE 2017

Congratulations on meeting your targetof starting production within 2 years ofthe ground breaking ceremony in yourfirst greenfield tire plant outside India.What were the major factors behind thissuccess?

Our highly experienced Projects Teamutilised their learnings from the Chennaiproject, for setting up this world-class facilityin Hungary. They were supported at each stageby the relevant departments like CorporateManufacturing, Quality and Technology. Thesupport received from the local authoritieshelped with the smooth set-up too. I wouldalso take this opportunity to appreciate ourEuropean and US suppliers of constructionequipment and plant & machinery, along withtheir commissioning personnel, whichcontributed to our team meeting theconstruction deadline.Inspite of the availability of some moreattractive locations and incentives inother East European countries, it wouldbe interesting to know the reasonsleading to your selection of Hungary?

We chose Hungary over other EasternEuropean countries after taking intoconsideration various aspects. There aremultiple factors that we need to keep in mindbefore shortlisting and finalising the locationfor a Greenfield. A few of these include: easeof doing business, manufacturing costs,availability of skilled manpower, governmentpolicies including incentive for manufacturing,logistics cost, proximity to highways, nearnessto the market and a variety of softer factors.What were the incentives offered byHungary and also by the EuropeanUnion?

We have been offered a regionalinvestment aid of approximately 100 millioneuro for our Greenfield facility as permittedunder the EU norms.Specifically, can you elaborate on thereasons for selection of 750 years oldGyongyoshalasz, which is only 80 kmsfrom Budapest, the capital of Hungary?

The location offered the best optimal choice,

Onkar S KanwarChairman & Managing Director

in an interview with M Noorani

INTERVIEW

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nearness to Budapest, the capital city ofHungary, next to a major motorway, in additionto the proximity to technical schools/institutions in the Heves county/region.You have had experience of running aWestern European plant in Holland andin South Africa. How different andchallenging has the Hungarianexperience been so far?

Our Hungarian experience has been prettygood so far. Having undergone comprehensivetheoretical and practical training at our existingplants, the technicians, trainees and engineersare extremely intelligent, skilled, diligent andhave a professional attitude towards work. Weare augmenting their lack of expertise andadequate domain knowledge to run the state-of-art machinery, through the assistance of ourcompetent associates from Chennai andEnschede plants.Were you able to employ some peoplefrom other tire companies?

We have very few people who have workedin the tire industry. Mostly we have hired freshindividuals, and from allied industries, whohave been trained at our facilities in India andthe Netherlands.What is the number of expats employedin Hungary?

Currently, we have about 30 expats,including those from projects. We plan to hirefew more expats in the areas of process/technology/ quality management to act astrainers and mentors to our young teammembers.How useful has the training in India andHolland of over 200 young Hungariantechnicians been?

The training provided at our plants inChennai, Vadodara and Enschede (theNetherlands), was extremely useful and willhelp us in quick ramp up of production,equipment upkeep and doing things the rightway first time. This year, we have another batchthat is poised to undergo training in truck-busradial manufacturing and systems.Can you elaborate on your 1 year longtraining programme?

Neeraj KanwarVice Chairman & Managing Director

INTERVIEW

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The year-long training programme comprises fewdays of induction programme, followed by threemonths of theoretical training at the GyongyosCollege and 10 weeks of practical training in thecompany’s Chennai and Enschede facilities. This isfollowed by the second part of the theoreticaltraining in the Gyongyos College and an AdvancedTechnical Knowledge of six weeks specific to thetire industry.Presently, how many people are employeddirectly and also indirectly?

At present, we have around 400 people employeddirectly and indirectly, including the expats.When do you expect to complete Phase I ofyour 5.5 million passenger car and light car(PCLT) tires and 675000 Commercial VehicleTires?

We have set a target ofcompleting the Phase I ofthe Hungarian Greenfieldfacility by FY20.While your EuropeanWhile your EuropeanWhile your EuropeanWhile your EuropeanWhile your Europeanoperations presentlyoperations presentlyoperations presentlyoperations presentlyoperations presentlycontribute almostcontribute almostcontribute almostcontribute almostcontribute almost32% of your32% of your32% of your32% of your32% of yourturnover, what isturnover, what isturnover, what isturnover, what isturnover, what isyour target afteryour target afteryour target afteryour target afteryour target aftercompletion of Phasecompletion of Phasecompletion of Phasecompletion of Phasecompletion of PhaseI in Hungary?I in Hungary?I in Hungary?I in Hungary?I in Hungary? To what To what To what To what To whatextent will theextent will theextent will theextent will theextent will thepresent contributionpresent contributionpresent contributionpresent contributionpresent contributionof your Indianof your Indianof your Indianof your Indianof your Indianoperations change byoperations change byoperations change byoperations change byoperations change by2020?2020?2020?2020?2020?

We have just inauguratedthe Hungarian facility and itwould be too early tocomment on the revenuecontribution of that facility.However, we are hoping thatin a couple of years, when theplant reaches its Phase 1terminal capacity, the revenuedistribution would be 45:55,with Indian operationscontributing 55% andoverseas operationscontributing 45% to theconsolidated revenues.What is your target forincreasing your presenceand market share in theUSA, the world’s largesttire market? By when doyou think you would setup a manufacturingfacility in the US orin the US orin the US orin the US orin the US or

possibly acquire an existing facility?possibly acquire an existing facility?possibly acquire an existing facility?possibly acquire an existing facility?possibly acquire an existing facility?Now that our Hungary Greenfield is up and

running, the next target that I have given to my teamis to look at the US market. While we already have asmall presence there through Apollo Vredestein, weare looking at expanding our presence in the world’sbiggest automotive market. We have spruced up ourteam there by hiring senior industry resources. OurR&D team is working towards developing productsspecific to that market. It is still too early to give atimeline for setting up a facility in the US.Apollo is also reported to be progressing wellin its efforts in ASEAN markets. What are yourmedium term plans for the ASEAN market?

As you have rightly mentioned, our strategicinvestments into ASEAN and Middle East markets

have been paying off well. Ourproducts have been well acceptedby the consumers in these regions.We would be looking at scaling upour efforts towards brand buildingand sales, especially in the ASEANregion, before we arrive at anydecision of local sourcing.With consolidation beingexpected in the Chinese tiremarket, wouldn’t acquisitionof a good facility be attractivein the world’s largestautomobile market?

We follow a growth-orientedstrategy, which could be organicor inorganic. In recent times, wehave made substantial investmentsto pursue organic growth. Havingsaid that, we are always open ifthe right strategic fit comes alongas an acquisition opportunity and

it also makes financial sense.Can you tell us somethingabout your proposed Rs 525crores ($80 million) investmentin Andhra Pradesh, India, formanufacture of 2 wheeler tiresand trucks?

We are in the process ofacquiring land and completingnecessary legal formalities forsetting up our manufacturingfacility in Andhra Pradesh. Weshould be in a position to start theconstruction of this facility laterthis year.Your Chennai plant hasreceived FORD Q1 andVolkswagen ratings. Have youalso received similar good

We follow agrowth-oriented

strategy, which couldbe organic or inorganic

INTERVIEW

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ratings from other automobile companies?Several of our OEs have rated us highly on our

products and processes, and have chosen Apollo astheir preferred supplier. Being an OE partner for the16 of the top 20 selling cars in India, is a testimonyto that.What is the progress in your plans to doubletruck & bus radial capacity in Chennai to 12000tires daily at an investment of Rs 27,000million (approximately $410 million)?

The expansion is partly complete, and tires havestarted rolling out from this expanded facility. Theentire planned expansion would take another 12-15 months to complete.Your recently announced impressive salesperformance for the Financial Year endingMarch 2017 also showsthat you have donesplendidly inspite of adifficult environmentarising from variousfactors like lower CV sales,the impact ofdemonetisation anddumping of very low-costChinese tires. Shouldn’tthe tire industry stronglypoint out to thegovernment that lack ofprotection againstdumping hurts the biginvestments made for tireproduction in India in linewith the government’s“Make in India” plans?

I would like to mention thatthe cheap imports are alsohaving a cascading effect onother intermediaries of the tireindustry including the rubbergrowers. The problem of low-cost imports is not only facedby the tire industry, but byother industries as well,putting at risk the entire ‘Makein India’ clarion call by thegovernment. Importantly,companies producing theseChinese tires do not have anunderstanding of therequirements of India and thiscan have serious safetyimplications for theconsumers.

As an industry, we havetaken up this issue with the

government. Thankfully, taking cognisance of ourpleas, the government has initiated an investigationinto the dumping of tires into the country. We arehoping that anti-dumping duty will be imposed onsuch imported tires.Your global R&D activities have been one ofthe corner stones of Apollo’s success. Can youtell us more about this and about thepercentage of your turnover invested in R&Dannually?

Going forward, technology will be one of the keypillars for our growth. Having said that, ourinvestments into R&D have also been increasinggradually in the last 3-4 years, and is now close to2% of net sales. The two R&D Centres, along with ahighly experienced team of over 300 scientists, will

help us in furthering thedimension of research anddevelopment. They have beenentrusted to create better andtechnologically advancedproducts for our customersworldwide.

These focused efforts havehelped us to secure a leadingposition in radial tire technologyin India across categories.Gaining a majority share in newproducts from OEMs, would bethe key for R&D going forward.To support the OEM journey andcompetitiveness in passenger cartires, new technologies are underdevelopment, specificallyfocused on extended mobilityand fuel saving.

At the same time, our AdvancedEngineering Centre is workingtowards developing new systems,technologies and tire sensors toenhance the tire management andthe integration between tire andvehicle electronic systems. Wehave created another satellite R&DCentre in Raunheim to developproducts specifically for theEuropean OEs.Congratulations on yourglorious 40 years of success.Every good wish as youcontinue to make India proudglobally.

Thanks to Team IRJ for beingassociated with us in our journey…

Gaining a majorityshare in new productsfrom OEMs, would bethe key for R&D going

forward

COVER STORY

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There are few corporate success stories inthe world more compelling and engagingthan that of Apollo Tyres Ltd. This is due in

part to the fact that Onkar S Kanwar, the Chairmanand CEO of the Indian tire manufacturing giant,has been synonymous with the company for almostfour decades. The account of how he turned anailing company around with sheer grit is perhapsmore fascinating than hearing about the reversalsof fortunes of some faceless industrial corporate

groups. Apollo’s current global statureis all the more remarkable, given

that the company had its rootsin the 1970’s Indian socialist

“license-raj” days, whenglobal ambitions were notrewarded.

Tire industry watchersknow the broad outline ofthe story: that it was OnkarS Kanwar’s single-mindeddetermination and focused

optimism which lifted ApolloTyres from near bankruptcy in

the early 1980s to internationalprominence today. The company

recently posted an annual turnover of $2 billion,and has four manufacturing facilities in India andone each in Hungary and Holland. Havingestablished a strategic presence in Europe, the US isnext on the radar for Apollo, and plans are wellunderway for further sales penetration to all theworld’s leading OEMs (original equipmentmanufacturers). Even though it has become a majorforce in keyinternationaltire markets,Apollo has notneglected itshuge homemarket, India,as the countrycontinues topost ani m p r e s s i v eGDP growthrate of over7%.

In this coverstory, we takean in-depthlook at the

Apollo: A global giant

Onkar S Kanwar: Chairman & Managing Director

COVER STORY

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genesis of the company, its revival and vigorousgrowth. Apollo Tyres Ltd. was established in 1977by the late Raunaq Singh, father of Onkar S Kanwar.The company became a leading player in India’stire industry though its products at the time werenot of a high, international-level standard. The

company suffered a severe setback in September1977, when India’s newly elected socialist coalitiongovernment, the Janata Party, nationalised ApolloTyres in retaliation against Raunaq Singh for hiscloseness to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.When she returned to power in January 1980,

in 40 glorious years

COVER STORY

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ownership was restored to RaunaqSingh and the promoters, and aprocess of normalisation wasunderway. Later that year, RaunaqSingh agreed to his son Onkar SKanwar’s request that he be given a chance to runthe company by himself without any interference.He was duly appointed CEO, with Raunaq Singh asChairman. Onkar informed his wife that he wouldnow have to be “married” to tires, give the companyeven more time and move to Kerala. He was drivento take Apollo to another level and be recognisedin his own right for his business sense andstewardship. In 1980, Onkar boldly took over therunning of the sinking ship that was Apollo fromhis illustrious father. While Raunaq was

undoubtedly a great visionary, he did not have therequired patience and attention to detail tosuccessfully run an industrial enterprise.

When he was at the helm of affairs, Onkar wasable to inspire and lead a team of capable youngprofessionals, and restore Apollo back to goodhealth. He deftly maneuvered through the complexmaze of government regulations and red tape thatheld back entrepreneurship at the time, and ensuredthat the company grew in the face of manychallenges.

Apollo had a turnover of just Rs 800 million($12.4 million) in 1984-85 but under Onkar’sleadership, the turnover soared to Rs 5,000 million($77 million) in 1992-93. The company’s turnoverin 2016-2017) of Rs 130,630 million ($2.04 billion)is testimony to its tremendous growth.

In the late 1980s, the company’s manufacturingunit in Perambra, Kerala, was troubled by illegalstrikes and lockouts. Onkar decided to open asecond manufacturing facility, so that Apollo wouldbe able to carry on production and not be held toransom by the strong union at the Perambra facility.Prevented from building a new plant in Kerala bythe MRTP Act, he sought possible sites in WestBengal, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana and UttarPradesh. However, almost every state in India alreadyhad a tire manufacturing unit operated by Apollo’srivals. Except one: Gujarat. Apollo set up amanufacturing plant in Limda, Gujarat, in 1991,despite many obstacles that Onkar overcamethrough his tenacity, as well as his ability to thinkoutside the box.

The company later acquired Premier Tyres Limited(PTL), a Kerala-based manufacturer of tires andtubes. Through PTL, which became an associatecompany, Apollo gained ownership of a thirdmanufacturing plant, located in Kalamassery, Kerala.

By the mid1990s, the company was among

Raunaq Singh: Founder

Neeraj R S Kanwar: Vice Chairman & Managing Director

Perambra, Kerala

COVER STORY

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India’s leading tire majors but by the end of the lastcentury, Apollo had already become the country’sleading manufacturer of radial tires.

From 2003 onwards, Onkar had beensuccessfully grooming his son, Neeraj R S Kanwar,to help him run Apollo. The father-son team thenembarked on a bold programme of building highgrowth and a larger international footprint. Neerajhas clearly inherited his father’s drive and vision forthe future.

Onkar realised the strategic importance oftechnical collaborations with global tiremanufacturers. Since the time of its inception,Apollo had a technical collaboration agreementwith the American company, General Tires, whowere also collaborators of other Indian tiremanufacturers, JK Tyres and Premier Tyres. In 1987,Europe’s second-biggest tire maker, Continental

AG, acquired General Tires, and assumed the roleof a technical collaborator of Apollo.

The Kanwars realised that Apollo’s future did notlie with Continental, who were keen to eventuallytake over the Indian company. Aware that theyrequired more innovative radial tire technology,Apollo made the logical decision to amicablyterminate the technical collaboration agreementwith Conti and turned to Groupe Michelin of France,for a technical collaboration in November 2003.Although both Onkar and the then Managing

Director of Michelin, the late Edouard Michelin, werevery positive about the partnership, Apollo came tothe frustrating conclusion that Michelin was notproviding it access to the requisite radial technologyknowhow and access to its plants, despite the Indiantire maker providing Michelin with full access to itsplants and its very good bias ply tire technology.

The most positive development that resulted fromthe dissolution of the agreement with Michelin, wasthe realisation that Apollo had to rely on and developits own cutting-edge technology and invest stronglyin R&D.

Apollo has taken its place on the global stage as amajor tire manufacturer due to certain significantand decisive moves taken by the Kanwars. Thecompany’s first foray outside India took place in2006, with the acquisition of Dunlop South Africaand Zimbabwe, and marked a major step for Indianindustry. The deal was valued at Rs 2,900 million(then $62 million).

Dunlop South Africa had manufacturing facilitiesin Durban (with a capacity of 25,000 tonnes perannum) and Ladysmith (with a capacity of 25,000tonnes per annum) and also the wholly ownedDunlop Zimbabwe, which had a manufacturingfacility in Bulawayo (with a capacity of 9,000 tonnes

per annum).Apollo’s acquisitionincluded a 47%stake in Harare,Zimbabwe-basedNational TyreServices, a listedcompany engagedin sale and tradingof tires and re-treading under theDunlop brand.

With this deal,Apollo becameIndia’s largest tiremanufacturer. In2006, the board ofApollo approved theelevation of Neeraj(the then ChiefOperating Officer)to the position ofJoint ManagingDirector.

The company continued strengthening itsposition in the Indian market, opening a new carand truck tire manufacturing plant in Chennai, TamilNadu, in 2008. The following year, Apollo startedmanufacturing OTR tires at its $27 million plant inLimbda, Gujarat.

A seminal moment for Apollo came later in 2009,with the acquisition of Vredestein Banden B.V.(VBBV) of the Netherlands, the premium tiremanufacturer, for an undisclosed sum from thebankrupt Dutch-Russian holding company, Amtel-

Onkar & Neeraj Kanwar with Edouard Michelin, CEO, Michelin (2nd from left) and the legendary Francois Michelin (extreme right)and other members of the Michelin Senior Management on their visit to Clermont-Ferrand, Michelin HQ: November, 2013

COVER STORY

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Vredestein NV. At the time, Vredestein had an annualturnover of 305 million euros and a manufacturingunit in Enschede, Holland, with an annual capacityof 5.5 million tires, about 70% of which were high-performance car tires.

Just prior to the acquisition, Apollo had in factidentified a location in Hungary, but with the takeoverof the Dutch company providing it with such asignificant foothold on the continent, all other planswere put on the backburner. Until this point, it haddistributed Apollo-branded tires in Europe onlythrough independent distributors and Europeaccounted for less than 2% of the Indian company’ssales.

Vredestein’s tires had been distributed for years inNorth America through its Vredestein Tyres NorthAmerica Inc. subsidiary, based in Metuchen, NewJersey. Till this point, Apollo had not distributed tiresin North America.

The integration and takeover of Vredesteinpreceded very smoothly, thanks to Apollo’s fine teamled by Sunam Sarkar who was in charge of the Indianfirm’s projects related to Dunlop South Africa andZimbabwe. At the time of the acquisition, VredesteinBanden CEO Rob Oudshoorn spoke glowingly ofthe way the Indian company had handled theacquisition and integration with Dunlop South Africa,commenting that the way they went about themerger spoke highly of the Apollo management’soutlook towards people and implementing bestpractices.

A key factor in these takeovers of Dunlop andVredestein was the Kanwars’ ability to convince theirpartners that they had a long-term vision of thepartnership and would invest further in expansion.Apollo’s international partners were also impressedby the strong core values for which the company

had by then become well known and respected.In June 2013, Apollo made waves globally,

through its bid for a $2.5 billion takeover of theworld’s no. 9 tire manufacturer, Cooper Tire & RubberCo. Though the deal was plagued with problemsfrom the start and devolved into a situation whereboth sides filed lawsuits against each other as thedeal unraveled, it was a bold move on the part of theIndian tire maker. In one stroke it could have givenApollo a major presence in two of the world’s biggesttire markets - the US (Cooper Tire is headquarteredin Ohio, with four manufacturing bases in thecountry and one in Mexico) and in China due toCooper’s joint venture with Chinese partner,Chengshan Group.

Contrary to ill-founded criticism by some certainquarters of the international tire industry andanalysts, Apollo had done its homework and wasfully capable of funding this acquisition.

Unfortunately, Cooper’s non-disclosureof the exact nature and limitations of itsrelationship with Chengshan, as well asthe Chinese company’s refusal to acceptApollo as a new partner, led to thebreakdown of negotiations, subsequentacrimony between the two major tiremakers and months of litigation thatfollowed in the Delaware Chancery Court.

A lawsuit was, in fact, filed byshareholders of Cooper Tire, OFI RiskArbitrages, OFI Risk Arb Absolu andTimber Hill LLC, alleging that themanagement of the US tire makerattempted to hide from investors the risksaround the all-cash deal, in which theIndian company first offered to buy

Cooper for $35 per share. They claim that theCooper Tire leadership hid information from Apollothat the Chinese joint venture partner in Cooper’smost important subsidiary, Cooper Chengshan TireCo. Ltd., opposed the transaction, possessed theability to kill the deal and demanded as much as$400 million to agree not to. The lawsuit filedagainst Cooper was subsequently dismissed.

Following the termination of what would havebeen a historic deal, Apollo was undeterred inpursuing its plans for global expansion. Onkar andNeeraj lost no time in putting the debacle behindthem and looking ahead to more promisingopportunities. The company started scouting formanufacturing locations in Eastern Europe in orderto increase their footprint in the continent andbenefit from the low-cost, skilled labour availablein Eastern European nations, as well as the

Kannan Prabhakar: Chief-Projects &Managing Director, Apollo Tyres, Hungary

Sunam Sarkar: Director and CBO(Chief Business Officer)

COVER STORY

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.

possibility of considerable tax incentives. With greatprecision, following the evaluation of eight EasternEuropean countries, Apollo narrowed the list downto Hungary and Slovakia.

Hungary then emerged as a clear winner, notjust because Apollo would benefit from total taxincentives of approximately 100 million euros fromthe Hungarian government, including upfront cashincentives worth nearly 55 million euros, but alsodue to the strong pro-business attitude of theHungarian government, led by forward-lookingPrime Minister Viktor Orbán. He whole-heartedlywelcomed Apollo Tyres and the Kanwar family, andprovided single window clearance for the projectto be located in historic Gyongyoshlasz in HevesCounty - the “greenheart of Hungary”. The town islocated 80 kms from Budapest and offers theavailability of well-educated engineers, as well asvery favourable living conditions for all expats.Typically, Apollo inaugurated the plant on targeton April 7, 2017.

The current scenario for Apollo is both excitingand encouraging: The Indian tire market currentlyaccounts for 63% of Apollo’s revenue, as comparedto 32% from Europe and 5% from other regions. By

2020, India will contribute 55%, while Europe andrest of the world will go up from the present 37% to45%.

Apollo Tyres’ 2020 vision is to be a premiumplayer in Europe, and to achieve leadership positionin all the product segments it operates in India.

Given Apollo’s impeccable track record of the last

(L-R) Neeraj Kanwar & Onkar Kanwar with Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary at thefoundation stone laying ceremony held in Hungary in April, 2015

(L-R) Neeraj Kanwar, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Onkar Kanwar pressingthe button to officially start the production at the Hungarian facility on April 7, 2017

Hungarian Prime Minister breaking a coconut (an Indian tradition to startsomething afresh) during the inauguration function

Hungary and its neighbours

COVER STORY

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30 years it would be very hard to doubt thecompany’s ability - steered by the Kanwars - toachieve this goal, by means of both organic andinorganic growth. Apollo continues to take dynamicand strategic steps to ensure it continues on thissteady growth trajectory.

In addition to expanding its footprint in Hollandand Hungary, Apollo is doubling its truck and busradial capacity in India, with an investment of Rs27,000 million ($4.1 billion) in its state-of-the-artChennai plant. The entire expansion will becompleted within the next 12 to 15 months.

The fastest growing tire segment in India duringthe last few years is that of scooter and motorcycletires, with growth of almost 30 % per annum. Apolloplans to invest $80 million (Rs 5,250 million) in a

facility located in the state ofAndhra Pradesh, in southernIndia, for the manufacture of two-wheeler tires and pick-up-trucktires. Construction is slated to startin the second half of 2017.

As far as its presence in Asia isconcerned, Apollo has establisheda huge warehouse in Dubai tocater to the growing Middle Eastmarket. Years ago, the companyset up an office in Malaysia. In2013, Apollo sold the Dunlopbrand in Africa, along with mostof the South African operation, tothe Japanese tire major, SumitomoRubber Industries.

A share of the much vauntedUS market remains the big prizebut it is not elusive. Apollo’sexports to the nation areincreasing steadily, and once arevenue of $100 million isachieved, the tiremaker willconsider building its own facilityin the US.

In 2013, Neeraj moved toLondon to be close to theEuropean market and financialinstitutions. He has a high levelteam in place in London, to handle

marketing, HR and other initiatives. Sunam Sarkar,member of the Board, President and Chief BusinessOfficer was transferred to Singapore to head a newglobal procurement office close to the key AsiaPacific Region and especially focus on naturalrubber supplies.

Apollo implemented a matrix organisation withthe appointment of Gurgaon-based Satish Sharmaas President, AIPMEA and London-based MathiasHeimann as President, Europe and America.

R&D / Technology: Apollo has significantlyboosted its R&D spending, which is now close to2% of turnover. In addition to the R&D centre inEnschede in the Netherlands, the company has very

The Chennai plant

Neeraj Kanwar set up the London office in 2013 The R&D centre in Enschede, Holland

Satish Sharma, President AIPMEAMathias Heimann, President, Europe &America Operations

COVER STORY

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impressive R&D facilities in Chennai and Bengaluru(Bangalore). The investment in these centres willensure that Apollo has access to world-class buthomegrown tire technology at all times. Theevergreen P K Mohamed, who is a ManagementBoard member and Chief Advisor of Research &Development and has over 49 years of experiencein tire manufacturing and technology, is a fountainhead of these efforts.

Onkar has always believed in giving back andhas ensured that Apollo has consistently

FutureOnkar has laid a strong foundation for Apollo’s success going

forward, with Neeraj by his side and assisted by a particularlyeffective and motivated team of professionals. Apollo is destinedto rise to even greater heights, and assume its rightful place amongthe world’s top tire manufacturers as it stays true to its famous tagline: “Go ------ the Distance”.

As he celebrates his 76th birthday this year, Onkar remainsdynamic, determined and optimistic. He can look back withtremendous satisfaction at having turned Apollo around and havingbeen the chief architect behind the growth of a company which isa source of pride to the Indian tire and automobile industry and toIndia Inc. at large.

P K Mohamed, Chief Advisor, R&D

contributed to the welfare of its employees andsociety at large. It has played a very valued andvisible part in India’s efforts towards HIV-AIDSprevention, as well as promoting efforts to empowerwomen. Apollo recently received the well-earnedAsian Award for CSR (Corporate SocialResponsibility).

As the average consumer of tires will attestApollo’s innovative marketing strategies havecontributed to its success. It has reinforced itsinternational stature with the tie-up in 2013 withthe world’s most valued football club ManchesterUnited, making the Apollo brand even more visibleworldwide and giving it instant recognition in newmarkets.

Start of partnership with Manchester United: 2013

Sunam Sarkar (R) Director and CBO (Chief Business Officer)receiving Apollo’s Asian CSR Award

CSR: Project U - Take home ration project

24th anniversary - june 2017

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