Excerpts from the speech delivered By Onkar S. Kanwar, Chairman, at the 41st AGM of Apollo Tyres
The year 2013-14 will be remembered in both India and Apollo as a watershed year when a country and a company took bold and decisive steps to shake off the shackles of the past.
As a country we started looking at real and viable alternatives to change the established order and create a better future for ourselves. Gone are the days when people would blindly accept things only because that’s the way it has always been. As a nation we truly believe that we deserve more and we are willing to fight for what should rightfully be ours. A new wave of hope has swept across our country, resulting in an unprecedented change that we are now witnessing.
Your company too decided to shape its own destiny, rather than remain hostage to the vagaries of the markets, business cycles and raw material costs. We realised that operations on a global scale gives us the leverage to manage increasingly consolidated customers on the one hand, and ever-larger suppliers on the other. Our confidence in our team and faith in you, our shareholders, emboldened us to put our strategy into action and attempt to acquire a company larger than us, but where the strategic fit was perfect, and addressed all the concerns I just mentioned.
The fact that the deal did not fructify is not the real story. The real story is that your company identified future challenges and was able to make the attempt to address these to ensure an increase in your long term wealth. The real story is that as soon as we knew that Plan A was not working out, we launched Plan B, which also addresses the objectives we have identified. We have made the decision to go ahead with a new Greenfield plant in Eastern Europe, expand the capacity at our Chennai plant and re-jig the product mix of our facility here in Kalamassery.
As we proactively address today’s challenges, we continue to follow our past strategy. – Expand. -Add new products for our customers. Broaden revenue base by increasing our footprint in new geographies. And, of course, recruit and nurture local talent.
Our sales offices in Dubai, Thailand and Brazil have led our thrust into new markets, building our brands and establishing distribution networks for a greatly enhanced consumer experience, and our network partners also start realising the benefits of working closely with Apollo.
When I turn my attention to the global economy I see further churn taking place. The United States, which had been written off by so many as no longer suitable for manufacturing, is enjoying a resurgence, driven primarily by energy costs and security. As manufacturing activity and consequent job creation picks up pace the US will once again be a huge influencer as a consuming economy. China is currently going through what I believe is a consolidation phase. The humongous growth of the past couple of decades has been tempered to allow systems, processes and fiscal prudence to catch up. I do believe that in the long term this is another market that will continue to be a huge influence on our industry. Europe continues to address structural issues and while it will remain a very significant market I do not believe we will look at rapid growth for the industry. We, of course, enjoy a presence there and are in a happy position of not being able to meet the demand for our products, which we are addressing by way of the Greenfield that I spoke of earlier.
India is today at the cusp of a golden era. There is much hope and optimism that we are about to see the unleashing of our potential and finally take our rightful place in the global economy. The path ahead is not easy, but the prize itself is worth striving for. I am extremely confident that we will once again go back to the years of sustained high growth in India..
I feel it is the long-term future that is critical to address to leave an institution and a legacy for our grand children. It is the issue of sustainability that each of us need to work on at an enterprise level as well as individuals. Your Company has been at the forefront of socially responsible actions for the last decade and we have been ahead of the curve long before the Government mandated CSR activities for corporations. For us the belief comes from within, that without giving back to society no business can be truly successful and sustainable in the long run.
I would like to conclude by thanking each one of you for having been a partner in this ongoing journey. Your support is highly valued and your company’s success is an indication of the faith you have always bestowed upon us. The support that we continue to receive from our banks, financial institutions and the state governments of Kerala, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu; and the union governments of India, South Africa and Netherlands, enable us to plan for the future.
The next phase of your Company’s journey has just begun. Challenges are part of our lives; it is the opportunities that we need to focus on. I am optimistic, and have equal faith in the future and the power of hard work which ensures that even as we work to create value for ourselves, even greater value is generated for the society that we live in.
Seshu Bhagavathula appointed Apollo’s Chief Technology Officer
Dr. Seshu Bhagavathula has been appointed the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Apollo Tyres Ltd. He will spearhead the global initiatives for the company on tyre technology, research and new product development for both passenger and commercial vehicle tyres. He will be assisted by the research, technology and design teams across all geographies.
Said Mr. Neeraj Kanwar, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Apollo Tyres Ltd.: “As we focus on the two key pillars of Marketing and Technology for the next phase of our growth, Dr Seshu, with his vast experience, will bring in the much-needed synergy across locations. He would also help us in providing intelligent automotive solutions to our customers. His appointment further strengthens Apollo’s Leadership Team and gives the company’s growth agenda an added impetus.”
Dr. Seshu’s last assignment was with Great Wall Motor Company in China, where he served as the Vice President, Research & Development. Prior to this, he had spent a significant part of his career with Daimler AG at multiple locations, where he was responsible for product development and integration of engineering processes. Having worked in the automotive industry, both in commercial and passenger vehicle segments, his core areas of professional expertise has been in research and development, innovation and strategic analysis.
Speaking about the appointment, Dr. Seshu said: “I am excited by this opportunity and impressed by the possibilities the future holds with Apollo Tyres. I am positive that we will be able to bring out competitive products to address the requirements of our global customers.”
Apollo Tyres has also inducted Dr. Seshu in its Management Board.