Apollo: Investment Focus on Serbia, China and Mexico

Apollo Tyres – which will add eight tire manufacturing plants across the globe after the completion of its $2.5 billion acquisition of Cooper Tire – will focus on expanding operations in Serbia, China and Mexico over the next few years, according to a report by the India Business Standard.

Neeraj Kanwar, vice chairman and managing director, told the paper, "There is a very clear growth-capex program that has been identified. Plants with the opportunity to grow will be the first ones (to get investments). So, you would have Serbia, China and, later, Mexico. India right now does not need any growth capex…we will just be doing maintenance capex here." 

In February 2010, Apollo began operations at its fourth plant in India, a $500 million facility. The tiremaker currently produces 1,400 tons of passenger car, truck and bus tires a day across its four manufacturing facilities in India. According to the India Business Standard, once the capacity for truck and bus radials is exhausted at Chennai, Apollo will consider shifting the technology to its other units in the Americas, Europe and Africa.

“An investment plan is being readied for the manufacturing unit owned by Cooper in Serbia,” the paper said, reporting that Kanwar said, “When Cooper took over, Serbia was one million units. Already, there is capex that has gone in. That is taking the plant to 2.5 million. The plan is to take that plant to five-six million units. So, we will expand Serbia for Russia and for Europe to get a fully global manufacturing footprint.”