The foundation for an exclusive off-the-road (OTR) tyre production facility was recently unveiled by Mr. Onkar S. Kanwar, Chairman and Managing Director, Apollo Tyres Ltd., at the company’s flagship manufacturing unit in Limda. This marks the beginning of Apollo Tyres’ entry into the OTR segment, with an initial capacity of 10 tonnes a day in the first phase of the project, to be scaled to 60 tonnes a day over the next three years.
Mr. Kanwar said on the occasion: “Buoyancy in the mining and construction industries globally has led to a demand-supply gap in OTR tyres, including in India. We will begin production with the conventional cross-ply tyres which are used in India. Over the next two-odd years, we will manufacture radial OTR tyres which are currently not produced in India. Various earthmover equipment manufacturers have shown eagerness to get into agreements with us that allow them exclusive access to our OTR production.”
The first set of tyres is expected to roll out in the next 15 months. The sizes produced here will begin from 25 inches (diameter) and go up to as much as 57 inches. The first phase will entail an investment of Rs. 1 billion, primarily for production of cross-ply OTR tyres. Additional investments will be made for radial production.
Radial OTR tyres are currently imported in India primarily in the size range of 50 inches and higher for vehicles used in the mining sector.
Radial OTR tyres are currently imported in India primarily in the size range of 50 inches and higher for vehicles used in the mining sector.
Apollo Tyres will also launch the Endurace premium radial tyres for heavy commercial vehicles later in the year to complement the company’s existing radial range in the category of Duramile for light commercial vehicles and the Regal Transport for medium heavy commercial vehicles.
Endurace is currently undergoing extensive road tests in India, South Africa and the UK to ensure product suitability for the export market. While it will cater to the newer generation of commercial vehicles in India, the use of tubeless radials in the country is still very low.
A predominantly cross-ply usage market, India is currently witnessing what is being called the “second radial revolution” – this time in commercial vehicles as opposed to the earlier passenger segment. On a small base, the replacement market in commercial radials is currently growing at 45-50 per cent every year. In the replacement market radial tyres constitute about nine per cent, compared to around two per cent in 2005. However, OE fitment of these tyres continues to be at a low of less than one per cent.
To cater to the special needs of commercial radial tyre users, Apollo Tyres has a trained team of consultants called Forza, who work with large transporters to ensure best usage, maintenance and to enable users to maximise the advantages of radial tyres.
However, a huge threat in this category is the cheaper Chinese imports into India which have made it difficult for Indian manufacturers to utilise their complete production or plan further capacity expansion. This is a crying need, given the growth rates and the requirement of Indian transporters and OEs in the coming years of quality tyres meant for the improved national highway infrastructure coming up across the country.
