GURGAON, India (Jan. 18, 2008) — Over the next two years, Apollo Tyres Ltd. plans to spend nearly $100 million building two plants in India for radial consumer and commercial tires and off-the-road tires.
Apollo has acquired 135 acres of land near Chennai, Tamil Nadu, for a "world class" radial tire plant. The first phase, for which the company has allocated $68 million, could be complete within 18 months, Apollo said.
The plant's product mix is still being evaluated, Apollo said. The project is being devised to allow the firm to double the plant's size as demand warrants it.
The OTR tire plant will be built on the grounds of its Limda, Gujarat, factory complex. Plans call for a capacity of 10 metric tons a day, starting with bias-ply tires and then gradually adding radial capacity. The product range will be from 35- to 57-inch rim diamters.
The OTR tire plant represents an investment of $31 million.
Apollo also approved $12 million to set up a wind energy project in Gujarat, which would double the company's power generation capacity from wind energy to 16 megawatts.