Apollo Tyres to invest 475 mn euros to set up Hungary plant

Apollo Tyres Wednesday said it will invest 475 million euros over the next five years to setup a green field manufacturing facility in Hungary.

"This investment would be our first one into a greenfield facility outside of India and would be a significant milestone in the company's international growth journey," said Neeraj Kanwar, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Apollo Tyres.

"Our aim is to create a benchmark manufacturing facility, which would further increase our competitive strength in the European market."

Kanwar added that apart from providing direct job to 975 people, of which majority would be hired locally, this facility will also lead to creation of indirect jobs and contribute significantly to the development of the region.

According to the company, once completed, the plant will have a capacity to produce 5.5 million passenger car and light truck (PCLT) tyres and 675,000 heavy commercial vehicle (HCV) tyres per annum.

"This facility will produce both, Apollo and Vredestein branded tyres, and will cater to the entire European market, and will complement Apollo Tyres' existing facility in the Netherlands," the company said in a statement.

The company said that the chosen site is less than 100 km from Budapest and meets the needs of Apollo Tyres including having close proximity to various OEM (original equipment manufacturers as potential customers.

"The construction of this plant is expected to start in the spring of 2015 and the first tyre is likely to roll out in early 2017," the statement said.

Currently, Apollo Tyres has four manufacturing units in India, three in southern Africa and one in the Netherlands. The combined production capacity of all facilities put together is 1,700 tonnes per day.