After being selected as ATMA Chairman, Satish Sharma, President (APMEA) & Whole Time Director, Apollo Tyres, has big plans for the automotive and tyre industries, from enhancing exports to self-sufficiency in Indian rubber. He shares his views on collaborations in the tyre industry, the challenges of the sector and the problem of India being used as a dumping ground. Read on…

How have your priorities changed ever since being selected as the ATMA chairman?
I was the ATMA chairman even four years ago, and this is my second tenure. In terms of priorities, I want to pick up from where I left. At that point, we had started this whole journey of improving our exports. In fact, I was on record to say that the tyre industry could be the poster boy for the Indian government.

Looking back, I’m very happy to see that the exports have improved rather well. And this is just the beginning; we could do much more. Therefore, one priority is to see how we enhance our exports significantly from where we stand today.

The second priority is that a lot of regulations are on the anvil for the vehicles and the tyres as well. So my idea would be to engage with all the stakeholders and get them fast paced rather than going about it in a slow manner. Plus, I would like to get all views on board, optimise them for the industry, the government and different stakeholders and get them rolling, working towards a seamless transition for the regulations and betterment of all the stakeholders.

As for my third priority, it is the self-sufficiency point of the Indian rubber. The Indian rubber is a key priority of the commerce minister, Piyush Goyal, to narrow the gap between domestic demand-supply of natural rubber, which is around 35 to 40 percent. Hence, some of us have come together at his behest and have contributed in monetary terms to help the rubber board to do serious plantations in the potential of the North East. That corpus has been formed and one year of it has gone by. The acronym is NEMITRA. It is a collaboration between the tyre industry and the rubber board, under the aegis and direction of the commerce ministry. So we are very hopeful that the work we put in is going to yield results and India will be able to narrow this deficit between production and consumption.

Speaking of production and consumption, are you seeing a revival in demand?
The demand recovery for tyres is always an organically growing demand. If you look at the GDP of the country, it’s rather sectoral and a K-shaped recovery. Therefore, some sectors associated with infrastructure, e-commerce or the real estate sector, etc. are doing very well. However, at the same time, there is very steep inflation, and there is a possibility or worry that this inflation might destroy demand. The entire supply chain has to pass through this inflation and, finally, it has to be borne by the consumer. Whether the consumer reduces consumption or continues to consume at the rate at which he/she was before is a bit of a worry. But so far, the demand is holding on at a broader level.

OEMs are reviving as the chip shortage is getting under control. We are seeing CVs – a cyclical business – at the beginning of its upcycle, which is good news for them. In PVs, the supply chain issues are getting eased off. Plus, the tractor sector is also reviving; with a good monsoon forecast, the rural economy should come back – maybe not to the same level from two years ago, but still reasonably good.

With the current world situation, from the Covid pandemic to the Russia-Ukraine war to high inflation rates, do you think there is a need for more collaborations between tyre companies?
Collaborations have to be there, but they have to be very finely defined. Collaborations can always be on larger subjects like sustainability or raw materials, where research work can be done, resulting in collaboration. So these are areas where a deeper collaboration will help the industry. But it cannot be used to tackle inflation – that has to be left to market forces.

What are the present challenges you see in the tyre industry that need to be addressed?
The organic challenges include preparing ourselves for electrification and the changing regulatory framework. However, the key challenge for the Indian tyre industry right now is inflation. Our balance sheet sizes have halved over the last year. Moreover, the profitability has reduced significantly. There is a significant phase lag to the cost push. Therefore, these key challenges are what we really need to take care of in the short-term.

There has been a ban on Chinese tyres. How is this impacting the Indian tyre industry?
All global tyre companies that have come in India are now producing their tyres in the country. And therefore, it is self-sufficient as far as tyres are concerned. So technically, imports are not required to that extent, from that point of view.

The problem comes about when we are used as a dumping ground and the economic value of everything that has been put into place gets destroyed. And moreover, the promise we have for the Indian industry is getting short-changed. So that’s the argument.

I was telling my industry colleague, whose company is entering the US market, to not go the wrong way. But, in fact, to go, set up and position the Indian product and brand name the right way and to not spoil the market and get branded as the next cheap manufacturer after China. Because if one does it that way, then he/she is going to spoil it for everyone.

And, truth is, we can really do it the right way. We do have a cost arbitrage. Hence, we can give a more honest price internationally and give tier 1 quality at a tier 2 price. However, if one were to position oneself at the bottom of the barrel, then it will spoil everything.

What is happening to recycling and renewable sources to make tyres? How are things shaping up in India?
One regulation is on the anvil, which is the extended producer responsibility. It is in the draft stage and we are in discussion with the government. Fortunately, by the nature of our country, there is a self-recyclability of any and all products. Of course, this is in the unorganised segment, and we don’t talk or hear about it. But we have seen tyres being sold to make something as useful as slippers. So it finds its own value.

But there are no satellite pictures available in India showing dumps and dumps of used tyres lying anywhere; you will find that in the Middle East. But the government is organising this whole thing, and we have the extended producer responsibility coming – it will have a far higher recyclability and will focus more on renewable energy and getting green raw materials. Plus, it will prioritise the increase in the usage of recycled tyre parts.   

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

PCBL Chemical Limited said it has appointed Sanjay Prabhakar Ghawghawe as Chief Manufacturing Operations and Executive Director, with effect from 5 January 2026.

In its disclosure, PCBL said that Ghawghawe’s appointment is on a full-time basis and does not carry a fixed term.

Ghawghawe brings about 29 years of industry experience, including roles at Owens Brockway, Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Petro Marketing, Asian Paints and Avery Dennison (India). His most recent position was Chief Manufacturing Operations at Pidilite Industries.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Nagpur University and a postgraduate diploma in business management from the Institute of Business Management and Research, Pune University. The company said there are no relationships between Ghawghawe and the directors of PCBL.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

CarbonX has announced that Daniela Sordi, its Chief Technology Officer and co-founder, has been appointed a Fellow of the Netherlands Academy of Engineering, the country’s leading body representing excellence in engineering, technology and applied scientific innovation.

Sordi is one of 15 experts selected for the Fellowship, which recognises engineers who have demonstrated significant impact in their fields and who contribute to major societal transitions.

Sordi is internationally recognised for her work on advanced three-dimensional structured carbon materials designed to improve lithium-ion battery performance. She has more than 17 years of experience across research and industry, translating chemistry and materials science into manufacturing technologies.

At CarbonX, she has led the development of battery materials that the company says charge faster, last longer and are up to five times more sustainable than conventional synthetic graphite. Under her technical leadership, the company has secured funding from the European Innovation Council Accelerator and advanced efforts to strengthen Europe’s autonomy in energy-storage materials.

“Daniela’s appointment to the NAE is an outstanding recognition of her ability to bridge groundbreaking science with high-impact industrial innovation,” said Rutger van Raalten, chief executive of CarbonX. “Her work lies at the core of our mission to enable cleaner, more efficient, and more sustainable energy technologies on a global scale.”

The appointment also highlights Ms Sordi’s role as a visible advocate for engineering careers, particularly for women entering deep technology and advanced materials. Her career is frequently cited as an example for students pursuing technical and innovation-led professions.

The Netherlands Academy of Engineering brings together senior engineers from academia, industry and applied research. Its members contribute to national and international innovation agendas and advise on technological responses to challenges such as climate, energy, health and digitalisation.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Toyo Tires has achieved a new benchmark in sustainable tyre design with a concept model composed of 96.5 percent renewable and recycled materials. This marks the company’s highest sustainable content to date, surpassing its own previous 90 percent sustainable concept and demonstrating ongoing progress in substituting traditionally hard-to-replace components without sacrificing performance.

The materials are categorised as either renewable, constituting 61.5 percent of the tyre, or recycled, making up the remaining 35 percent. Renewable inputs are derived from biomass and plants, including specialised rubbers, polyester fibres, silica from rice husk ash and oils. The recycled portion incorporates carbon black, steel components and a novel CO₂-derived rubber developed with the University of Toyama. A key technical breakthrough involved successfully integrating recycled sulphur and zinc oxide, which are vital to the tyre manufacturing process and have historically presented significant replacement challenges. This integration was accomplished using the company’s established production and compounding expertise.

This concept represents a critical step toward Toyo Tire’s publicly stated goals of utilizing 40 percent sustainable materials by 2030 and achieving full 100 percent adoption by 2050. Beyond its material composition, the tire has also earned a top-tier ‘AAA’ rolling resistance rating in Japan. This high rating signifies extremely low energy loss during operation, which can help extend electric vehicle driving range and reduce overall lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions.

Moving forward, Toyo Tire intends to advance its research and technical development with the objective of transitioning these innovative material applications and design principles into future commercial products. This effort is part of the company’s broader commitment to fostering a more sustainable mobility ecosystem.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Shakti Cords Pvt. Ltd has appointed Purushothama Kini as managing director of Shakti Cords and its group companies, marking a leadership transition at the textile reinforcements manufacturer.

Kini brings more than three decades of experience in the industrial and technical textile sector. His background includes manufacturing excellence, operational transformation, quality systems and global customer engagement.

The company said his leadership experience in driving sustainable growth, strengthening processes and supporting organisational development would be a key asset as Shakti Cords continues to position itself as a reliable partner to customers.

Shakti Cords was established in 2003 and manufactures textile reinforcements for the rubber industry. Its product range includes single-end dipped cords, industrial hose yarns and single-end tyre cords made from polyester, aramid, PVA, nylon 6/66 and rayon. These materials are used in power transmission belts, industrial hoses and performance tyres.

The company said the use of high-modulus, low-shrinkage dipped cords and high-tenacity braiding yarns improves strength and operational performance across these applications.

Shakti Cords, as per the company website, has a total production capacity of 3,000 tonnes a year for single-end dipped cords and dipped industrial hose yarns. It holds the largest share of the Indian market for dipped single-end yarns and cords.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!