Apollo Tyres has confirmed that it would be setting a greenfield facility in Hungary. The location was chosen after a consideration of various factors over some of the neighbouring Central Eastern European and Asian countries. It will invest €475 million over the next 5 years to set up this facility in the new industrial zone near Gyongyoshalasz, Hungary. Once completed, the plant will have a capacity to produce 5.5 million passenger car and light truck (PCLT) tyres and 675,000 heavy commercial vehicle (HCV) tyres per annum. This facility will produce both, Apollo and Vredestein branded tyres, and will cater to the entire European market and will complement Apollo Tyres’ existing facility in the Netherlands.
Commenting on this decision, Neeraj Kanwar, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Apollo Tyres said, “This investment would be our first one into a Greenfield facility outside of India and would be a significant milestone in the company’s international growth journey. Our aim is to create a benchmark manufacturing facility, which would further increase our competitive strength in the European market.”
Peter Szijjarto, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade said, “Apollo’s Hungarian investment is an important step in the re-industrialisation of Hungary.” The chosen site is less than 100 km from Budapest, Hungary and meets the needs of Apollo Tyres, including having close proximity to various OEM manufacturers as potential customers. The company will soon start the process of applying for necessary permissions and licenses to set up the facility. Similarly, the process towards Environmental Impact Assessment will be started soon. The construction of this plant is expected to start in the spring of 2015 and the first tyre is likely to roll out in early 2017.
Kanwar said that apart from providing direct job to 975 people, of which majority would be hired locally, this facility would also lead to creation of indirect jobs and contribute significantly to the development of the region. As an organisation, we strongly believe in ‘Care for Society’, and we would actively participate in addressing the health, safety and environment issues of the community.”
