Apollo starts building tire plant in Hungary

Gyöngyöshalász, Hungary – Apollo Tyres’ has marked the start of construction of its greenfield tire plant in Gyöngyöshalász with a foundation stone-laying ceremony at the site, about 100 km from Budapest.

Scheduled to start production in early 2017, the facility is to produce both Apollo- and Vredestein-branded tires for the European market.

“This is a significant milestone for us at Apollo Tyres, considering that a few years back we didn’t have any presence in Europe,” Apollo chairman Onkar Kanwar said at the ceremony.

“Today, we are looking at having our second manufacturing unit in place, he added. “With the new capacity in Hungary, we will be able to further increase our focus on the European market.”

The Gyöngyöshalász facility will have a capacity to produce 5.5 million passenger car & light truck (PCLT) tires and 675,000 heavy commercial vehicle (HCV) tires per annum.

(l to r): Neeraj Kanwar, vice chairman & MD, Apollo Tyres Ltd; Onkar Kanwar, chairman, Apollo Tyres Ltd; and, Viktor Orbán, prime minister of Hungary, placing a time capsule at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the greenfield plant in Hungary.

This new operation will complement Apollo Tyres’ existing facility in The Netherlands, bringing the full range of Apollo and Vredestein branded tires to the European market, said a company statement. The location, it also noted, is close to various OE automotive manufacturers.

Recruitment for the new factory has started at the beginning of this year. Apollo added that it has already signed scholarship programmes with almost 90 technicians who will be contracted as employees from 1 July.

Another 150 more technicians will be employed In the second half of the year, together with qualified engineers, said the tire manufacturer.