THE MAN BEHIND THE APOLLO WHEEL

• 47
• 0

APOLLO TYRES LTD IS AN INTERNATIONAL TYRE MANUFACTURER AND THE LEADING TYRE BRAND IN INDIA

APOLLO TYRES

Onkar Singh Kanwar  (born March 1942) is an Indian businessman, chairman and managing director of Apollo Tyres. Also, he is the chairman of Artemis Global Life Sciences, PTL Enterprises  and Premedium Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd.

After his undergraduate degree in business administration and industrial engineering, Onkar Singh Kanwar worked as a salesman in Riverside, California working on estimates for different government contracts for about six months. He then worked for Abbey Etna Machine Company in Perrysburg, Ohio on the shop floor. The president of Etna Company after discussions with the Kanwar family and looking at the perseverance of Onkar invested money to start a new pipe factory in India.

 

Kanwar has grown Apollo Tyres from a small single plant Indian company into a multinational with six plants worldwide, and annual revenues in excess of US$2 billion.

Apollo Tyres Ltd. was incorporated on 28 September 1972 as a Public Limited Company and obtained certificate of Commencement of Business on 24 October 1972.

In 1975, the company made its Initial public offer of equity shares and its first manufacturing facility was commissioned in Perambra Plant, Thrissur,  Kerala, India in 1977, followed by its 2nd plant at Limda, Gujarat, India in 1991. The company acquired Premier Tyres Limited- PTL in 1995, which became its 3rd plant at Kalamassery, Kerala, India. In 2008, it started a new plant at Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. A year later in 2009, the company acquired the Netherlands-based tyre maker Vredestein Banden B.V. (VBBV) for an undisclosed sum

The company focused on the production of truck tyres in India and introduced its first truck tyre, Rajdhani in India. The company expanded its operation across India and in 1996

In 2015, Apollo Tyres bought Germany's Reifen com tyre distributor for €45.6 million.

In 2016, the company signed an MoU with the Government of Andhra Pradesh to set up a new factory in the state. In 2017, it inaugurated its plant in Hungary. On 9 January 2018, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation stone for Apollo Tyres' ₹1,800-crore tyre factory in Andhra Pradesh. The plant will come up over a 200-acre site in Chinnapanduru village near Sri City in Tirupati district and produce passenger car radial (PCR) tyres with an initial capacity of 55 lakh (5.5 million) tyres per year and will serve both domestic and export markets.

 

Apollo Tyres Limited is an Indian Multinational tyre manufacturing company headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana. It was incorporated in 1972, and its first plant was commissioned in Perambra in Chalakudy, Kerala (India). The company now has five manufacturing units in India, one in Netherlands and one in Hungary. It has a network of nearly 5,000 dealerships in India, of which over 2,500 are exclusive outlets.

The company generates 69% of its revenues from India, 26% from Europe and 5% from other countries.

Apollo announced its entry into the two-wheeler tyre segment with contract manufacturing in March 2016.

The company's second plant in Europe, was inaugurated by the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, in April 2017. Shares of Apollo Tyres Ltd. rose to their highest in little over two years in February, 2021 trading at ₹253.10.

 

Range of Apollo Tyres

Apollo Tyres believes in creating first-to-market products and was the first global tyre brand to introduce fuel-efficient tyres. The company also has exclusive partnerships with OEMs for standard tyre fitment. Innovative products from the brand include the Alnac 4G tyre for cars, the Apterra  tyres series for SUVs, and the Apollo Alpha bike tyre, which has the distinction of being India's first "zero-degree steel motorcycle radial tyre"

 

Apollo Car Tyres

Apollo car tyres are among the most sought-after passenger vehicle tyres in India. The '4G' series car tyres are highly popular among car and SUV owners, winning customers over with their performance, mileage, and fuel efficiency. Designed to tackle the harsh Indian roads.

Apollo car tyres are among the bestsellers in the mid-size and compact vehicle segment.

Apollo Bike Tyres

Motorcycle and scooter tyres from Apollo Tyres come in various types and sizes. Apollo makes front and rear tyres for all types of two-wheelers, from street bike tyres to touring motorcycle tyres and high-performance racing bike tyres. The entire range of Apollo Bike tyres is available in bothtubeless and tube-type variants. Apollo's innovative bike tyres come with features like puncture resistance, superior grip on dry and wet roads, cornering precision, high-speed stability, and improved braking performance. The tyres are compatible with most Indian motorcycles.

APOLLO TYRES FOR TRACTOR

Apollo Tractor Tyres are the best companion of the tractor. Tyres of Apollo are in credibly smooth on the fields. It comes with an impressive grip on the ground. Apollo Tractor tyres is one of the highly durable tractor tyres.  

Onkar Singh Kanwar has been conferred with ‘Ernst Entrepreneur of the Year award – Manufacturing’ for the year 2012. He has recently been awarded with Hungarian ‘Order of Merit’, and Government of Japan’s ‘Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star’.