Apollo Tyres Inaugurated Global R&D Centre In Asia

On November 9, 2016, home-grown tyre manufacturer, Apollo Tyres, inaugurated its Global R&D Centre on the outskirts of Chennai. It is only the second such facility that the company has opened, after the Global R&D Centre in Netherlands which went operational in 2013. Both these Centres have been strategically stationed to cover markets around the world. While the facility in Netherlands, which employs 150+ people, caters to markets in Europe and Americas, the R&D Centre in Chennai, with a strength of close to 140 employees, will cover the entire Asia Pacific, Middle East and African regions.

On the occasion of the opening ceremony, Omkar S. Kanwar, chairman, Apollo Tyres Ltd said, “Apollo Tyres has been at the forefront of launching breakthrough products over the past four decades suiting the Indian context. The Global R&D Centre, Asia will break new frontiers and accelerate our R&D vision for India and the region. This step also aligns with the honourable Indian Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi’s vision for Brand India, and Technology being one of the core sectors for India becoming a global power.”

Apart from the two Global R&D Centres, the company has set-up two satellite R&D Centres, based out of Bengaluru and Frankfurt. While the Advanced Engineering Centre in Bengaluru is working towards integrating electronics into tyre technology, the one in Frankfurt, Germany, is trying to expand the company’s presence by building ties with OE (original equipment) customers for both Apollo and Vredestein (a part of Apollo Tyres) brands.

Apollo Tyres is one of the oldest players among tyre manufacturers. It started its operations back in 1972 and since then it has expanded operations to cater to more than 100 countries across the globe through a network of branded, exclusive and multi-brand outlets.