Apollo de-bottlenecks, plans big expansion in South Africa

Kolkata, India - Apollo Tyres has said it has already de-bottlenecked production at its two South African factories and is planning a significant expansion there.

Since buying the operations of Dunlop South Africa in April 2006, Apollo said it has increased the combined capacity of its Durban and Ladysmith factories by 13 percent, and expects a further 12 percent expansion in the near future through productivity and de-bottlenecking.

In addition, the company said it is planning a big expansion in South Africa, scheduled to begin in 2008 - 09. While none of the details is yet confirmed, Apollo said it is developing plans to expand radial and OTR tyre manufacturing capacities substantially.

The two plants in South Africa are located in Ladysmith and in Durban. They had a combined capacity of around 150 tonnes/day immediately after the acquisition, but Apollo said that is now up to 170 t/day and the company said it expects to gain a further increase during this financial year, to 190 t/day, "without any additional investment in plant and machinery," according to an Apollo spokesperson.

The Ladysmith plant makes car and light truck tyres, while the Durban unit makes truck, mining and OTR tyres. Apollo said its OTR production represents roughly 15 percent of its South African output

The company also bought a tyre factory in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe with the Dunlop acquisition, but Apollo said that plant - the only one in Zimbabwe - will not be expanded until the foreign currency situation in Zimbabwe has improved.