India-based Apollo Tyres has started construction of its first greenfield plant in Gyöngyöshalász, Hungary, and its second one in Europe, with the foundation stone laying ceremony. The foundation stone was laid by Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary and Onkar S Kanwar, Chairman of Apollo Tyres.
The international tyre manufacturer’s facility will start production in early 2017. The facility will produce both Apollo and Vredestein branded tyres and will cater to the entire European market.
The Gyöngyöshalász facility will once completed have a capacity to produce 5.5 million passenger car & light truck (PCLT) tyres and 675,000 heavy commercial vehicle (HCV) tyres per annum. This facility will complement Apollo Tyres’ existing facility in the Netherlands, bringing the whole range of Apollo and Vredestein branded tyres to the European market. This upcoming plant is located less than 100 km from Budapest (capital city of Hungary) and meets the needs of Apollo Tyres, including having close proximity to various OE manufacturers as potential customers.
Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary and Onkar S Kanwar, Chairman of Apollo Tyres, jointly laid the foundation stone of the facility in the presence of Neeraj Kanwar, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Apollo Tyres, Dr. László Szabó, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, GyörgyHiesz, Mayor of Gyöngyös, János Pásztor, Mayor of Gyöngyöshalász, Dr. Gábor Pajtók,Administrative Government Commissioner of the Government Office of Heves Country and Róbert Szabó, President of General Assembly of Heves Country.
“This is a significant milestone for us at Apollo Tyres, considering that a few years back we didn’t have any presence in Europe, and today, we are looking at having our 2nd manufacturing unit in place,” Onkar S Kanwar, Chairman, Apollo Tyres Ltd said during the ceremony,
The recruitment for the new factory has started at the beginning of this year and the company has already signed scholarship programmes with close to 90 technicians who will be contracted as employees from July 1. In the second half of the year, 150 more technicians will be employed, together with qualified engineers, to join the international tyre manufacturer’s team.