Indian tyre giant enters Lankan market

By Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

Rajesh Kumar, is the Head of Apollo’s International Marketing in India. The Sunday Observer met him in Colombo last week when he arrived to unveil the new Apollo Logo and to launch a range of Apollo tyres. He spoke with the Sunday Observer’s business correspondent about his visit to Sri Lanka. He said the Apollo tyre conglomerate was one of the largest tyre manufacturers in India. It is the 17th largest tyre company in the world with a turnover of 1.2 billion US Dollars. He attributed the growth of the company to the quality of products they manufacture.

“We know well that customers whether in India, South Africa or in Europe are satisfied with the quality of products. We have acquired the Dunlop tyre company in South Africa and are looking globally to expand our business network. We are also looking at Europe as our domestic market.”

He said that Apollo tyres are tested in the best motor racing tracks in Europe. Apollo tyres sold in Europe have met the required quality standards and certification. The same tyres are sold everywhere including Sri Lanka. “We pay a lot of attention for ethical values, transparent relationship with our business associates. Asked about the type of tyres they manufacture, he said Apollo manufactures, a range of tyres including truck, bus, passenger car radial tyres except two-wheeler tyres.

“Our corporate social responsibility lies in creating an awareness of AIDS. We have opened several HIV clinics in India. We have launched a project called the mission 2018 to produce an Indian Grand Slam winner.” Asked whether Apollo was the market leader in India, he replied that except for two-wheeler tyres they were the market leader in India. “We are expanding our capacity. We have built four factories in India and four in South Africa. The latest plant will be set up in Chennai to manufacture bus, truck and passenger car tyres. We are also looking at Eastern Europe as our next destination for investment.

Rajesh Kumar said a vigorous marketing campaign with a brand building image together with a relationship with end users will be activated following the partnership with United Motors. When asked about the quantum of tyres they intend to export to Sri Lanka, he said the exports to Sri Lanka were not very high but were hoping to export six containers of truck, bus and passenger car tyres every month.