Apollo Tyres Establishes Female Rubber Sheet Making Unit

Apollo Tyres Rubber Unit — Apollo Tyres established its rubber sheet making unit made up of women. The unit is part of an initiative to make the livelihoods of Indian women more profitable.

To mark International Women’s Day, Apollo Tyres established its rubber sheet making unit, for rubber tapper’s wives, run at Vellavoor Panchayat in Kottayam, Kerala, India.

The unit, established with the help of one of the company’s suppliers, was inaugurated by Adv S. Jayasooryan, vice chairman of the Rubber Board of India. Elected officials and other Rubber Board members, as well as the Apollo Tyres team, were also present.

Run by women who have been trained by Apollo Tyres, the unit will focus on rubber tapping, sheet making, sheet smoking and general entrepreneurial skills. They have also been linked to the rubber dealers to directly market their products from this unit.

Apollo Tyres initiated this project with the objective of empowering the women and increasing their family income, in addition to getting better quality rubber sheets as raw material for the business. The women running this sheet making unit are expected to increase their income from 1,000 – 2,000 rupees ($15.30-$30.70) per month to 8,000 – 10,000 rupees ($122-153) per month by working in the unit. Apollo plans to replicate the unit’s model soon in other parts of India to empower more women, and at the same time, help with getting better quality rubber sheets.

In the last two years, Apollo Tyres has reached out to nearly 600 women in Kottayam, who had very little to no income, and provided them with alternate sources of livelihood. These women have been trained in jackfruit processing, mushroom cultivation, aquaculture, organic farming and apiculture. In addition, the company also provides healthcare facilities by conducting regular health camps and specialized cancer screening camps for around 500 rubber tapper’s families.

The initiative is a part of Apollo Tyres’ Women Empowerment Program, which is targeted at providing livelihood skills to underprivileged women in and around the company’s manufacturing facilities in Kerala and Gujarat in India.

Apollo Rubber Unit — The Rubber Board vice chairman and other dignitaries process their first sheet of rubber.

McCarthy Tire Service recently opened a new in-house commercial wheel refinishing facility. According to the company, the facility has the ability to refinish over 1,000 wheels per day and technicians will utilize equipment for inspection, surface preparation, pre-treatment, and automated coating techniques at the facility.

“We're thrilled to unveil this wheel refinishing facility,” John McCarthy Jr., president of McCarthy Tire Service said. “This investment reflects our dedication to providing our customers with unparalleled efficiency and a one-stop shop for all their commercial tire and wheel needs. By streamlining the refinishing process, we can help fleets minimize downtime and maximize productivity.”