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.   

LANXESS, a specialty chemicals company, has successfully placed a six-year-tenor euro benchmark bond with a coupon of 0.0 percent in the European capital market.
The company, with about 14,800 employees in 33 countries, will use the funds to finance the planned acquisition of IFF, a US-based chemical company involved in microbial control.

The new bond is listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange in denominations of EUR 1,000.

Michael Pontzen, CFO, LANXESS, said, “We have secured the first step of financing already quickly after the announcement of the acquisition of IFF Microbial Control and are happy about the very receptive reaction of the capital market to our offering.” (TT)

Goodyear has launched its new RT-3B bead-to-bead tread in US and Canada in sizes 20.5R25 and 23.5R25 for off-the-road (OTR) tyres.

The new retread provides all-around performance for loaders and graders. Joining the existing lineup of premium off-the-road Goodyear tyres, the retread provides up to 60 percent savings compared to a new tyre.

Used extensively in gruelling OTR applications, retreading helps extend the life of tyres while delivering high traction and minimal tread wear. Additionally, retreading promotes sustainability by reducing unnecessary waste.

The new Goodyear RT-3B is cured in a mould and press method to generate low heat through long hours of usage via its 115-level tread depth. Strongly cut-resistant in nature, the centerline lugs and open shoulder provides optimal traction.

Loic Ravasio, General Manager, Global and Americas OTR, Goodyear, said, “We are always focused on delivering high value and low cost of ownership to our OTR customers. The RT-3B is a substantial addition to our retread portfolio providing another great option for operators to help drive efficiency, reduce costs and protect the environment.” (TT)

Anshuman Singhania, Dy. Managing Director of JK Tyre, has been appointed managing director of the company, effective October 21,2020.

Anshuman Singhania joined the Company as an Executive and over the years has been deeply involved in various activities of the Company in different positions, said the company.

Singhania is also Vice Chairman of ATMA

He is a graduate from Oxford Brookes University, UK and an alumnus of London Business School. As a young leader, he started his career from the shop floor as an apprentice and has held several positions in Planning, Production, Product Development, Quality Control, Stores & Purchase, Finance as well as Sales & Marketing. Being a techno-savvy person, he has played a key role in implementing the latest technologies in the manufacturing process at JK Tyre.

Yokohama Off-Highway Tires recently held the groundbreaking and foundation stone unveiling ceremony of its new plant at Atchutapuram, Visakhapatnam - Andhra Pradesh, India.

In the online event, Masataka Yamaishi , President & Chairman of the Board, Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd broke the ground to commence construction work.

Yamaishi San unveiled the Foundation Stone virtually in the presence of Atao Kishi San: Chairman - ATC Tires Pvt. Ltd. and Managing Officer - The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., Nitin Mantri – CEO and Anil Gupta – COO and the leadership team at Yokohama Off-Highway Tires.

The new plant will have a daily production capacity of 55 tons (rubber weight), with planned capital investment totalling US$165 million. The plant, which will be the company’s third plant in India, will manufacture its three brands ALLIANCE, GALAXY and PRIMEX brand tyres.

 Yokohama Off-Highway Tires currently has two tyre plants in India—the Dahej Plant in Gujarat and the Tirunelveli Plant in Tamil Nadu.