Indian tyre giant, Apollo Tyres, was one of the first tyre companies in India to announce a partial resumption of operations at three of the six plants in April.
While demand in the replacement tyre segment has already started to witness a revival, manufacturers believe that the OE segment will definitely take some time to recover. Apollo, on the other hand has already started working on a new set of guidelines to ensure safety from the coronavirus infection at its production units as it kickstarts its post lockdown operations. These guidelines stem from the company's motive to ensure complete safety of its employees as it readapts to its previous norm of ‘stop-n-go’ production.
Satish Sharma, wholetime director and president (Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa) - Apollo Tyres, said, “It is not that India’s economy was in the pink of health in the pre-COVID-19 days. We had to stop production for 3-4 days even in those days because sales of M&HCV trucks and cars had gone down substantially. It was a norm back then.”
Also See: Apollo Tyres Partially Re-Opens It's Kerala Plant
He added that managing production at plants at very low utilization rates or shutting it before restarting it in a few days had become a way of life for Apollo, even before the lockdown was enforced. Therefore, managing the lockdown and measures to be taken for restarting are unlikely to trouble the company at all.
“We found out what the cost is if you run the plant at lower capacity in all 30 days as opposed to taking a block closure of three-four days where we produce only what is needed. Not only Apollo but the entire tyre industry was running like this. We have become adept at managing volatility in FY20,” added Sharma.
Apollo had announced the partial resumption of its Perambra plant in Kerala on 22nd April. Soon, the company also declared its other plants in Kerala (at Kalamassery) and Gujarat (at Limda) as operational as well; with all the three plants complying with the standard operating procedures and guidelines for industrial units, prescribed by the respective state governments to prevent and contain the spread of COVID-19.
Even though certain factories - based on their location - are allowed to operate, the Centre and state governments have made sure that companies are made to follow strict guidelines handed out by the local authorities. Companies have already been warned about penal action if any COVID-19 positive case is found within their premises, which includes a possible prison term for the factory head.
“This time around the issue is also to take into account the coronavirus factor. So we have to put into place how we disinfect the buses, thermal scanning, disinfect the work center. These are additional complications now. We have not started production yet. We have taken approval from the authorities to be able to start production as and when we need it. These are large manufacturing set ups and they take a long time to restart,” Mr. Sharma said.
It was revealed that Apollo is also exploring options to implement social distancing among factory workers on the workfloor. Though exact details were not available but an estimated 3,000 people are employed at the Kerala plants of Apollo Tyres.
