LIMDA, India (Feb. 25, 2008) — Apollo Tyres Ltd. has broken ground on a $24 million off-the-road tires factory expansion in Limda, with production expected to start before mid-2009.
The project, at Apollo's headquarters plant in Limda, Gujurart Province, will focus initially on bias-ply tires in rim diameters up to 57 inches, the company said.
The company also plans to add capacity for radial OTR tires in a second phase project, which will require additional, undislosed investments.
The project, with an initial daily capacity of 10 metric tons, marks Apollo Tyres' entry into the OTR segment. The capacity will be scaled up to 60 tons a day over the following three years, Apollo said.
Onkar Kanwar, Apollo chairman and managing director, said buoyancy in the mining and construction industries globally has led to a demand-supply gap in OTR tires, including in India, leading to the decision to expand.