Himanshu Narang

0191mba 065

Apollo Tyres

Apollo Tyre, one of the premier Indian Tyre manufacturing major. This was incorporated in 1975 and
has grown to a household name since then.

1. Types of Products :-
Apollo Tyre manufactures and sells automobiles tyres, tubes and flaps.

2. Process of Tyre -
A tyre is made up of several rubber compounds and multiple layer.

The different layers that make up a tyre:

Bead:
This is the toughest part of the tyre. The bead basically consists of thick strands of steel wire
that is encapsulated in rubber. It’s the part of the tyre that attaches to the rim.

Sidewall:
The sidewall consists of not just the sidewall rubber section but a chafer to strengthen the area
above the bead as well.

Inner liner:
The inner liner is a soft layer that is impermeable to air. This is what basically replaces the tube
in a tubeless tyre.

Inner layers:
The inner layers are multiple belts that consist of steel cords sandwiched between 2 rubber
sheets as well as thread made of polyester & rayon, sandwiched between rubber sheets. These
provide the structural strength to the tyre.

Tread:
This is the final top most layer of the tyre. The one that makes contact with the road.

All the above components are made in the plant individually and they all come together to form
the final tyre. Looking at a tyre you never realise the different raw materials that are needed to
make the final product. Apart from the rubber which itself could be multiple types there are
several other raw materials. Some of the raw materials were more like something you would
see in a chemistry lab! Here are just few of the raw materials that we could see:
 Rubber:
The rubber used could either be synthetic rubber (butyl rubber) or natural rubber (latex). This
depends on which part of the tyre it goes into. For example, the inner liner uses synthetic butyl
rubber. Other parts of the tyre like tread or sidewall may be a mix of both. The rubber is either
imported or sourced locally.

Steel Cords:
Steel cords are used for the inner layers of a tyre as well as the bead. There are different
types of cords depending on where they are used. The cords usually have a bronze
coating to bond with the rubber. The steel cords are usually imported, either from
Europe (Belgium) or Taiwan/China. Most tyres have multiple steel belts inside. The
belts are like the main skeleton of the tyre.

Fabric Cords:
Along with steel cords, fabric is also used. The fabric cords are made from polyester,
rayon or similar materials. Both steel and fabric cords are sandwiched between rubber
sheets in a complicated process called calendering.

Carbon black:
A large % of the compound is carbon black. This is in-fact why the colour of a tyre is black!
Carbon black provides better heat/uv resistance along with lower wear responsible for the tyre
life. It is mixed with the rubber at the beginning. The higher the carbon content, the greater the
life as well as strength - but of course this will have an impact on grip levels.

Other chemicals:
There are many other chemicals used such as sulphur that provide strength by
vulcanization. Silica is used in modern tyres to reduce the rolling resistance of a tyre,
aiding fuel efficiency.
Manufacturing Process:-
1. Mixing :- This is where all the raw materials come together. The massive machines that
do the mixing are called 'Banbury Mixers'. In simple terms, mixing is like putting all
the ingredients inside a dough kneading machine. The Banbury mixers are almost 2
stories tall. We had to climb up to the first floor to see where the raw materials are fed
in and then come down to see the final mixed product. The ingredients are fed into the
machine according to which part of the tyre is being manufactured. It could be for the
tread, inner liner, inner belts, sidewall or bead. The exact proportion of each ingredient
is computer controlled using pre-programmed recipes. The mixer has an LCD screen
that shows the recipe it is mixing and the next recipe in the queue. Sometimes mixing
may be needed to be done multiple times. The ingredients added to the mixer are rubber,
carbon black, sulphur, silica and other chemicals which result in the final compound -
a black rubber putty like substance, which is then fed to an extruder.

The plant has 8 mixing units in total. The Mixers are common for Truck Bus Radials
as well as Passenger Car Radials. Post mixing, the manufacturing is split into two
separate chains, one for TBR and other for PCR.
2. Extrusion :- here are multiple extrusion machines and stages of extrusion depending
on which part of the tyre is being prepared. Extrusion is basically a press which creates
the required shape and cross section needed. It involves passing through rollers which
 are heated to shape the compound. The first stage of extrusion is basically to take the
putty like rubber dough from the mixer and form them into sheets which are stored for
further processing. It passes through hot rollers and is then cooled by dipping into a
special liquid to prevent the sheets from sticking to each other. Depending on what part
of tyre that sheet is for, it is sent to a more specialized extruder. The plant has extruders
for inner lining, sidewall, inner belt layers and the tread. These are super long conveyor
belts that maintain the right tension on the rubber section as it passes through the
multiple presses. Once passed through the extruder, you see the tread cut into the exact
width of the tyre as well as the length.

Extruder
3. Calendering :- Earlier, I mentioned the steel and fabric cords that are used in the inner layers
as belts, as well as in the bead. Calendering is where those cords are sandwiched between 2 of
the rubber sheets. This is an extremely high precision and complex process. The steel cords
come in rolls of 330 metres length. In one room there are multiple rolls placed on racks. From
each roll the cord is pulled to the end of the room where it passes through a toothed-comb like
metal insert. This maintains the exact distance between each cord. These are then fed to the
calendering machine. The calendering machine has 2 huge drums one on top of each other
which have the rubber belt from the extruder fed on either side. The 2 rubber belts meet in the
centre where the cords are also fed. The drums are heated so the hot rubber is pressed together
with the cords sandwiched in between. A similar process is followed in the case of fabric cords.
In the case of the tyre bead, the end result is a loop which looks like a hoola-hoop. The inner
belts are then chopped using a machine called a “pork chop” before they are sent for tyre
assembly.
Fabric cords that are fed into the calendering machine:
4. Tyre Building :- This is where all the individual pieces made in earlier stages come
together. This step uses a tyre building machine which is partially hand operated by a
skilled builder. The tyre builder consists of a barrel that is made of a rubber bladder.
Over the rubber bladder you first place the inner liner then various inner belts as well
as the sidewall. The edges of the rubber belts are pre-heated for easier adhesion. The
bead loop is placed on both sides of the sidewall. Once all layers are in place the central
rubber bladder inflates causing the tyre to wrap around the edges on the side. The
machine pushes the sides and a pressing roller makes sure there are no loose ends. The
barrel deflates and the technician removes the tyre from the machine. The result of this
now begins to look like a tyre. Since this tyre is not yet cured but is pretty much ready
it is called a “Green Tyre”. The tyre is bar coded as it now has all the components to
make one model of the tyre in the range. The LCD display, above the building machine,
displays the tyre details, for example - Apollo Alnac 205/65-15.
The final "Green Tyre":
5. Curing :- Based on the bar coding, the tyre is now set for curing. The plant has hundreds
of moulding machines. For the TBR’s there is a lift machine that carries the Green Tyre
from the tyre building to the curing area. For PCR’s this is done manually using
forklifts. The curing machine consists of a mould that is as per the specifications of that
exact tyre size and model. There are hundreds of curing machines with moulds for the
tyres that match. The Green Tyre is placed inside the mould and a rubber bladder inside
inflates inside (similar to a the tube of a tyre). This bladder applies pressure outwards
so that the tyre pushes out to the mould. The curing process is at a temperature of around
300 degrees C and the duration varies from 8 minutes to 20 minutes depending on the
tyre and compound. The mould has the tread pattern and the sidewall lettering on it,
including the date code which has week and year of manufacture mentioned. Every
week the mould is modified with the current week code. What finally emerges post
curing is the finished tyre. This is then moved onto a conveyor belt and sent for
inspection.
The tyres are then placed on a conveyor belt and sent for inspection:

6. Inspection :- The final tyre undergoes several inspections before it is deemed ready to
ship. These include X-ray, visual inspection, balancing test as well as tests to check the
true shape of the tyre. The balancing tells you the lightest/heaviest point on the tyre
which is then marked by a red/yellow dot. This is the point where the tyre installer will
usually mount the tyre onto the rim and align it with the valve to balance the weight. If
all the inspections pass, the tyre is then stored in the warehouse as “Finished Goods”
ready for dispatch.
 3. Plant Layout
Here, Process selection - Mass is used for the manufacturing of tyres. Mass Production
produces large volumes of a standard product for a mass market. Product demand is stable and
volume is high.

4. Plant Location and facilities.

The manufacturing plants of Apollo Tyre are located in Trichur, Vadodara and Pune. Apollo
Tyre Ltd has four manufacturing units in India, two in South Africa and two in Zimbabwe.
Apollo Tyre has a network of around 4,500 dealerships in India, of which over 3,000 are
exclusive outlets and nearly 230 multi-brand Dunlop Accredited Dealers in South Africa and
Zimbabwe.
Before we go into details on the tyre manufacturing process, here’s a low down on the Apollo
Chennai
• Plant is spread over 128 acres at Oragadam near Sriperumbudur.

• The plant has a workforce of nearly 1,600 employees and is operational 24x7 with 3 shifts,
working almost 365 days a year.

• The plant manufactures only radial tyres for commercial vehicles known as 'Truck Bus
Radials' (TBR) and 'Passenger Car Radials' (PCR).

• Manufacturing capacity is currently at 16,000 passenger car radials and 6,000 truck bus
radials. There is a massive expansion underway to increase the production of truck bus radials
by 50% to 9,000 tyres/day.
• There are 2 distinct manufacturing lines inside the plant, one for TBR’s and other for PCR’s.
A central spine runs in between the 2 manufacturing lines which has the utilities like chillers,
power backup, compressed air and the offices.

5. Quality Assurance
During every stage of the manufacturing process, a sample is taken and tested at the dedicated
laboratory. The raw materials like butyl rubber, latex and then the rubber that emerges from
Mixing and Extrusion is tested for every new batch. Even the fabric and steel cords are tested
for strength. Sulphur, Carbon Black, Silica and other chemical oils are all tested before they
are cleared to be used for mixing. Rubber samples are tested using special instruments like a
Mooney Viscometer or Rheometer.

6. Details of Machines
The Rheometer applies pressure on the sample and heats up the rubber. A spindle is then
inserted and a motor tries to turn the sample. The torque registered on the plate at the bottom
determines the viscosity. A Rheometer has additional measurements that a Mooney Viscometer
is not capable of.

Different types of gauges for measurement:

A moulding press. It is used to cure standard test pieces, so that testing of the compound
properties can be performed on them.

An oven that accelerates the wear rate to determine tyre life:

This machine tests the tensile strength of the bead wire or any of the other steel wires: