After receiving the necessary approval from its Board of Directors for the proposed investment towards setting up a greenfield facility in Eastern Europe, Apollo Tyres has confirmed Hungary as the location for it.
Apollo Tyres will invest Euro 475 million over the next five years to set up this facility in the new industrial zone near Gyongyoshalasz, Hungary. Once completed, the plant will have an annual capacity to produce 5.5 million passenger car & light truck tyres and 6,75,000 heavy commercial vehicle tyres. This facility will produce both Apollo and Vredestein branded tyres and will cater to the entire European market, besides complementing Apollo Tyres’ existing facility in the Netherlands.
Commenting on this decision, Mr. Neeraj Kanwar, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Apollo Tyres Ltd., said: “This investment would be our first one into a greenfield facility outside of India and would be a significant milestone in the company’s international growth journey. Our aim is to create a benchmark manufacturing facility, which would further increase our competitive strength in the European market.”
Mr. Peter Szijjarto, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Government of Hungary, said that Apollo’s investment is an important step in the re-industrialisation of Hungary.
The chosen site is less than 100 km from Budapest, capital city of Hungary. The company will soon start the process of applying for necessary permissions and licences to set up the facility. Similarly, the process towards environmental impact assessment will be started soon. Construction of the plant will start in the spring of 2015 and the first tyre is likely to roll out in early 2017.
Mr. Kanwar added: “Apart from providing direct job to 975 people, of which majority would be hired locally, this facility will also lead to creation of indirect jobs and contribute significantly to the development of the region. As an organisation, we strongly believe in ‘Care for Society’, and we would actively participate in addressing the health, safety and environment issues of the community.”
Currently, Apollo Tyres has four manufacturing units in India, three in southern Africa and one in the Netherlands. The combined production capacity of all facilities put together is 1,700 tonnes per day.