68 Tyre Asia April/May 2018
COVER STORY
When Daniele Lorenzetti, former Pirelli R&D Director, took over as Apollo
Tyres’ Chief Technology Officer and joined its Management Board, it signalled
the company’s intention to further strengthen its global market presence,
particularly in Europe. His brief was to spearhead Apollo’s global R&D
initiatives for both passenger and commercial vehicle tyres. Helping him in
this endeavour is a dynamic team of research, technology and design teams in
Europe and India. With several tyre and mobility-related patents in his name,
he will be powering Apollo’s product leadership in various segments. In this
interview to Tyre Asia, he speaks about his research agenda to make Apollo
one of the world’s top companies that offers a large portfolio of quality tyre
products. Excerpts from the interview:Superior Future Ready
Technology Products
How is Apollo Tyres’ stated corporate
objective at product development with
focus on sustainability are being achieved
in the context of increasing competition in
the tyre industry globally?
Apollo’s vision is to be a premium tyre company by 2020
with diversified and multinational presence. Currentpriorities set by the company to realise this vision are,
achieving leadership position in India, creating premium
products for Europe and exploring strategically important
markets like North America. In pursuit of these goals,
support from technology with a strong focus on ecological,
economical and social sustainability is a key ingredient for
success.Apollo’s R&D is at the forefront of sustainability efforts by
tyre manufacturers. Customer centric product development
with support to sustainability has been central to Apollo’s
growth. Considering all the requirements to ensure
sustainability, Apollo’s R&D has made significant strides
in developing path-breaking technology and products that
exceed customer expectations.
R&D has a strong focus on fundamental research in the
field of advanced and alternative materials in tyres, which
aims to support sustainability efforts. We are currently
engaged in numerous research projects in-house as well as
in collaboration with external partners like national research
institutes, universities and raw material suppliers to create
the much needed technological edge to the company in
areas of environmental sustainability. Some of the key
projects are aimed at the development of Epoxide Natural
Rubber, Nano-delaminated clays, De-proteinised Natural
Rubber, Silane modified clays, New generation Silanised
Silicas, Self-healing tyre etc, all focusing majorly on the
three fundamental areas of tyre performance – lowering
of rolling resistance, reducing the rate of tyre wear and
improving wet grip, and replacement of synthetic materials
with naturally occurring ones. Many of these projects are
in industrialisation phase and some of the projects like new
generation carbon black, to reduce the wear rate, have been
already industrialised.What are some of the top manufacturing
technologies and innovations that Apollo’s
R&D centres have come up with recently?
Company’s R&D centres in Europe and India can proudlyDaniele Lorenzetti,
Apollo Tyres’ Chief Technology OfficerTA News Bureau