Apollo offers a range of TBR tyres and is renowned in India for its social and welfare programmes for truckers across the country. In Europe, the company plays a different role as it is still a growing brand and is working to ensure its clients get the best they can from its TBR range.
Apollo’s Cluster Director Europe for TBR Tyres Talks Sustainability
The company looks at sustainability in cost terms for its clients. It is not possible to be sustainable if the costs cannot be controlled. Apollo’s view is that the company offers Apollo TBR tyres with a tier-1 mileage performance at a tier-2 price.
“Currently, with high inflation and the prohibitive cost of premium products, many end users already face financial limitations on purchasing tier-1 products at a high price. This is where Apollo Tyres has become the best replacement for end users, ensuring performance expectations are met without breaking the bank,” said Apollo’s John Nikhil Joy, Cluster Director Europe – Truck & Bus Tyres.
The commercial tyre sector has long moved from seeing retreads as the poor partner in the business to being an integral part of growing customer confidence and offering long casing life and lower fleet costs. Whilst not offering its own retread tyres in Europe, retreading is especially important to Apollo, as re-using any material is a step towards the efficient use and management of resources.
The greater number of lives that a tyre can yield through the retreading process, the better it is for the economy and sustainability. For this reason, the company ensures that all Apollo TBR tyres are retreadable.
Whilst some Tier I manufacturers are now considering offering TPMS built into their tyres; Apollo is leaving the choice of TPMS to the fleet operator.
“We do not offer any TPMS solutions to fleets directly since this is a tool which is very popular and widely available on the market. Most fleets have started using TPMS to better their overall efficiency, allowing them to reduce CO2 emissions,” explained Joy.
Sustainability is the key in many manufacturers’ current development strategies, with recyclates and alternate fillers being considered, even alternative sources of latex for natural rubber. Here, Apollo is also considering alternative sources of materials to make its tyres more sustainable.
“Natural Rubber is the primary raw material used in most truck tyres,” says Joy; “Although NR comes from a renewable source, it is not the most sustainable due to the limitations in harvesting. So, more research work is in place to explore the bio-based source of fillers and polymers as an alternative raw material for future sustainable production. Besides this, more focus is given to increasing the usage of recycled tyre materials (reclaim rubber) to achieve a sustainable future.”
