The Hindu Business Line : Apollo to set up tyre retreading plant in Haryana

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Mumbai Feb. 14 Apollo Tyres plans to invest in a retreading tyre plant in Haryana. According to senior officials, the company is going to invest Rs 5 crore in the satellite plant.

Apollo intends having 2-3 such satellite plants strategically located in the country. They will be ideally located in and around commercial vehicle transport centric areas. The company has invested in imported machinery for the upcoming plant though the process of retreading has been developed in house by the company.

A retread also known as `recap' is a manufacturing process designed to extend the lifespan of a worn tyre. Retreading starts with the safety inspection of the tyre. The old tread is buffed away and a new rubber tread is applied to the bare casing using specialised machinery.

Retreads are relatively cheaper than new tyres and the durability of the new retread tyres is almost 70 per cent that of a new tyre, for e.g. a new truck radial may have a lifespan of 100,000 km, the retreaded tyre can easily run 70,000 km. The retreading process would cost Rs 3,000 vis-à-vis a brand new tyre's Rs 10,000.

Apollo will buy old tyres from its chain of established dealers (3,000 exclusive) and retread them later.

It may also develop a new chain of dealerships dedicated specifically for this new business; something similar to the `True Value'- second hand car business of Maruti Udyog, said senior officials.

Regal brand

Meanwhile, the company has unveiled the first of the Regal brand truck and bus radial tyres - Transport RS (front axle) and Transport RD (drive or rear axle) for the commercial vehicle market in India.

The new range is manufactured at Apollo's manufacturing unit in Dunlop, South Africa and now in Baroda.

A dedicated team of techno-commercial experts called Forza has been put in place by Apollo Tyres to work closely with the customer in order to bring down their operating costs.

The team would be available as expert tyre consultants to ensure fleet owners and individual customers derive maximum benefit from the edge that using radial tyres should bring them.

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