The Hindu Business Line : Dunlop tyres likely to roll in September

Quality and consistent production and delivery will be the key focus areas for Dunlop India Ltd, which restarted production on Sunday after an eight-year break.

Dunlop tyres will be on the market shelves in mid-September.

Addressing a press conference after the formal start of the production at Dunlop's factory in Ambattur here, the company Chairman, Mr P.K. Ruia, said that with the job of restarting behind it, quality and consistency in production will be the key issues to finding Dunlop's space in the market.

Dunlop tyres will hit the market in mid-September about 10 days after they roll out in the first week of September from the Ambattur facility, he said.

Quality ensured

Mr Ruia said that quality would be achieved `whatever the cost' and as promoter, he would bring in the required cash to ensure Dunlop's continued production. The company would breakeven in March 2007, a prediction, which, he said is based on not just optimism but a detailed analyses of the markets and the numbers.

Dunlop is getting back into the fray at the right time, the demand is growing and the original equipment manufacturers have evinced interest in placing orders with the company.

Donin brand

It is only the Dunlop's need to look for an optimal mix of OEM supplies and after market sales, which offer better returns that is stopping the company from committing its entire production to OEMs.

Some exports are also expected and this would be under the Donin brand, he said.

Funding

Funds to meet liabilities and its future needs have been tied up, Mr Ruia said. But there are some `structuring issues' that would soon be solved.

The promoters will chip in with whatever it takes to continue production till the bank funds start flowing. As of now, over Rs 110 crore has gone into restarting the factories at Ambattur and the Sahagunj factory in Kolkata, he said.

Sahagunj unit

The Sahagunj unit would restart production in October and by March 2007, he expected it to be operating to full capacity of 130 tonnes a day. The delay is primarily because a lot more time is needed for refurbishing the facility, which is more than 75 years old. Ambattur is just half that age, he said.

At Ambattur, power connection has been restored and the arrears of about Rs 2.5 crore-3 crore to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board has been rephased. New water lines are being laid and supply would soon start, he said.