Interview With A Tyre Leader_PK Mohamed_Apollo Tyres

INTERVIEW WITH
P.K.MOHAMED
Chief Adviser - Research & Technology
Member of Management Board
Apollo Tyres Ltd.
Tyre Technology Is
An Amalgamation
Of Science And
Engineering.

P.K. Mohamed is a soft-spoken and an accomplished tyre
technologist. I consider it a privilege to know him and
present his leadership wisdom to you in this special edition.
The above quote aptly summarizes Mohamed. You will
agree with me when you read this passionate interview of
his journey from a college lecturer to a well-known tyre
technologist. There are struggles, challenges, achievements,
lessons on loyalty and continuous education for us to imbibe
in his more than 49 years' of experience in the field of Tyre
Technology and Manufacturing.
Mohamed’s exceptional knowledge, clarity, relevance and
insight on the various aspects is awe-inspiring. I have said
earlier that true leaders are few and when we find one, we
look towards them as mentor and guide.
Mohamed is a Fellow Member of the Rubber and Plastic
Institute London, Member in the Management Board of
Apollo Tyres Ltd, Industrial Advisory board of Centre for
Tyre Research, USA, IRCO and Area Director of American
Chemical Society Rubber Division. Mohamed is also the
Chairman of Indian Tyre Technical Advisory Committee
(ITTAC), Technology Environment Safety and Standard
(TESS) group of ATMA and past chairman of IRI. He has
several international publications to his credit.
As always, I welcome your feedback on
rubbermachineryworld@gmail.com.
Best Regards
Prasanth Warrier
| Interviewer’s Note |
“A leader is someone who
demonstrates, what’s possible”
- Mark Yarnell
There are struggles,
challenges, success
lessons on loyalty
and continuous
education for us to
imbibe in his more
than 49 years of
experience.
3
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Know A Leader - Rubber & Tyre Machinery World JAN 2016|
(Disclaimer: All the pictures and statements in this special supplement are sourced from web or shared by respective companies.
All copyrights belong to actual owner. Rubber Machinery World does not independently verify them nor will vouch for their
genuineness, hence will not be liable for any misrepresented data. The images are used for representation purpose only.)

4
| LEADER - INTERVIEW |
“Most of my learning in rubber
technology and compounding
has happened during my career.”
Know A Leader - Rubber & Tyre Machinery World | JAN 2016
(ImageSource:ApolloTyresWebsite.)

5
PRASANTH WARRIER (PW):
Hello Mohamed. First of all thank
you for accepting an interview with
Rubber Machinery World (RMW) and
sharing your thoughts. From a Junior
Lecturer at Calicut Farook College
(Kerala) to being recognized as ‘Best
Tyre Technologist’ and a Member of
Management Board of Apollo Tyres
is a remarkable journey. So let me
start with a personal question - What
would you say was key to your success
and how you reached the very top
spot? What are the take away for the
next generation of leaders in your
inspiring story?
P.K. MOHAMED (PKM):
It is a fact that I started my career as
a Junior Lecturer in the year 1965
immediately after passing out from college
with Chemistry major. But it was not long
before I realized that the challenges in the
position as a junior lecturer was
inadequate to meet my desires. And my
mind was prompting me to look for a job in
the industry to meet my aspirations and
challenges. So I tried for a job in rubber and
fertilizer industries and was fortunate to
receive positive responses from both. My
decision was to join rubber industry for the
more lucrative remuneration then offered
by the industry.
I joined as a Supervisor in the Quality
Department in Premier Tyres under J.D.
Kamath. Kamath was a good teacher and
guide. At that time the technical department
was headed by G.K.Pillai, a well known Tyre
Technologist trained in the USA under the
collaboration agreement with General Tyre.
The compounding department was headed
by Dr. A.S. Nair, a doctorate holder from IIT
Kharagpur and a well known person in the
field of rubber compounding and material
science. I was fortunate to be a protégé
of these eminent personalities. They
provided me with excellent training that
enabled me to perform better and better in
future. It is worth to mention that when I
joined the Rubber Industry, my knowledge
about Rubber technology and rubber
compounding was very limited. During my
academic time, I only learnt that there was
a molecule called ‘isoprene’ which was the
monomer of natural rubber.
Most of my learning in rubber technology
and compounding has happened during my
Tyre Technology is an Amalgamation
of Science and Engineering
Interview With P.K.Mohamed,
Chief Adviser - Research & Technology. Member of Management Board, Apollo Tyres

6
career. This reinforced my belief in the
benefits of continuing education in the
fieldof one’s interest, through reading,
interaction, active participation in the
technical discussion, experimentation of
one’s ideas and analysis of their outcome.
Linking these observations with the
theories, is an important element of
learning which is essential for one’s
professional growth.
It is also important to acquire
qualification in the respective
professional field for better recognition.
The successful stint in Premier saw me
elevated to the position of the Manager -
Compounding & Laboratory Chemist.
It was time in 1976, when Apollo Tyres
was looking for a rubber technologist
with a qualification of LPRI (London) and
with compounding background to be
trained under their collaborator, General
Tire International Company (GTIC) in the
USA. A change seemed just right for me at
that stage to further my career growth
and also to support the financial needs of
my family which was particularly more
felt after my marriage.
I applied for the position on offer and got
selected. People around me and well
wishers like Dr. A.S.Nair, G.K.Pillai,
M.Jayashankar, I.Venugopal, and Dr. John
Jacob congratulated me because then
Apollo Tyres was considered to be a rising
star in the industry circles. And more for
the fact that it was managed by the
dynamic entrepreneur, Raunaq Singh.
I joined Apollo with a lot of hope and went
to General Tires for extensive training in
the areas of rubber compounding, fabric
dipping, calendaring, and heat engineering.
I returned to India and started working
under William Stebins, a General Tyre
Compounding Specialist.
The Technology was then headed by Ceaser
Pereira. Even though every individual
department put in their best efforts, heart
and soul for the growth of the company, the
products offered by our collaborator were
not meeting the customer and market
requirements. Hence tyres started failing
miserably.
Apollo reached a situation where in all the
raw material suppliers refused to make
anymore supply of their products,
collaborator refused to provide further
technology and dealers stopped lifting our
tyres. During that time Raunaq Singh
installed a new management team under the
leadership of Onkar Singh Kanwar, the
present Chairman and Managing Director.
When he took over the company, there was
no credible management team and whoever
was available, was having a very low
morale.
“The products offered by our
collaborator were not meeting
the customer and market
requirements and hence tyres
started failing miserably.”

Quality reputation was extremely poor,
financial and labour situation were
miserable. But he managed the situation
with his management skill, positive
attitude, optimistic and aggressive
approach.
During that time the technical
department was totally vacant and there
was no chance for an external person
with good background joining the
company. So they identified me to steer
the technical department by promoting
me as a Senior manager.
It was then D.V. Kohli and Kanwar gave
the assignment for the development of a
tyre for over-load market and get the
share of this market from the Modi N-416,
(then market leader in that segment with
60 per cent market share). This was an
herculean task to achieve with the
available expertise and man power.
Despite that, I along with R.N. Krishnan,
Sondh, T.R. Gopalakrishnan, Tom Thomas
and Cyriac Mattam, decided to put our
heart and soul; determined to achieve the
goal set by our beloved chairman. We
identified the weaknesses of N-416 tyres
and developed a tyre with the new design
concept, carcass platform, process and
material technology.
The project was a great success. Our
company’s sales of this particular brand
of tyres moved from 3,000 tyres to over
400,000 tyres per annum.
This success encouraged the whole team and
boosted their morale multi-fold. The
increased vigour further paved the way for
the development of XT-7, Amar and passenger
radial tyre technology using available
equipment and market a brand of tyres
called Polyglass.
These developments changed the overall
reputation and financial status of Apollo,
which lead to the expansion of company’s
Perambra plant capacity from 56 MT to 106
MT per day.
As the demand for our tyres further
increased, the management decided to set up
a plant in Gujarat with a capacity of 76 MT
and the same got expanded to 350 MT with in
a short time.
“These developments changed
the overall reputation and
financial status of Apollo.”
10

Our company continued to grow from
strength to strength and prospered under
the leadership of Onkar Kanwar and Neeraj
Kanwar. New technology products like PCR,
TBR, OTR and Agricultural products were
introduced successfully, which helped to
expand the company from 56 MT to reach a
capacity of 1600 MT day in the year 2014.
Apollo Tyres also acquired plants in thr
Netherlands, South Africa and India
(Premier Tyres).
During this journey of growth, the
technology department, under my
leadership developed products, processes,
systems etc., to maintain the market
leadership. This was recognized by the
management and suitable rewards were
given to all people who have worked in the
technology department including myself.
I consider myself as one of the luckiest
person in the company because I always
received full support from Onkar Kanwar
and Neeraj Kanwar. And they played a vital
role in developing me as one of the well-
recognized technologists in the field of tyre
technology. I am greatly indebted to them.
My journey in Apollo Tyres was fascinating
one, full of challenges which I cherished
throughout my career in the company. I
taught myself, several new lessons in the
company and wish to share a few of them
with the readers:
1. I am a strong believer of Abraham
Lincoln’s words "failure is not a dead end
11
Apollo Tyres Display at IMME2014
(ImageSource:Autocarpro.in)
“Our company continued to
grow from strength to strength
and prospered.”

Onkar S. Kanwar
Chairman & Managing Director
P.K. Mohamed
Neeraj Kanwar
Vice-Chairman & Managing Director
“I always received full support from
Onkar Kanwar and Neeraj Kanwar.
And they played a vital role in
developing me as one of the well-
recognized tyre technologists. I am
greatly indebted to them.”
(ImageSource:Web)
12

but it is a detour. Enthusiasm, passion,
commitment, proper analytical
capability, dedication, positive mind and
of course expertise building through
continuous upgradation of knowledge
will make you an expert.
2. Please do not believe in one-time
education, the success will be depended
upon continuing the education through-
out your career.
3. Challenges always, look insurmountable
and difficult to achieve but the same can
easily be achieved if you commit
yourself to face them with all your
beliefs and passion.
4. Individual can achieve very little but a
team can achieve a lot. Team work is
very critical for success.
PW: As one of the first few employees,
your contribution at various levels has
been significant in Apollo’s rise to today’s
leadership position in tyre industry.
Which is the position that you enjoyed
the most? Why?
When I scan my memory ofPKM:
achievements in Apollo Tyres, several
incidences are flashing across in my mind. It
is difficult for me to list all of these items
here, but would like to provide a few of them
for the information of the readers of this
interview. I enjoyed my job in every position
held, that started as the Deputy Manager,
Compounding to Chief Advisor, Technology,
in the span of 38 years in the company.
I have already mentioned some of the
interesting developments that took place in
the company but wish to highlight a few
major happenings that I cherish, for better
understanding for the readers.“Challenges can be
achieved if you commit
yourself to face them
with all your beliefs
and passion.”
(Image Source: Tyrepress.com.)
Image from advertisement of
Apollo Alnac 4G Winter Tyre
16

leadership position in the market. This
tyre was known in the market as
Hercules Loadstar. Initial production was
only 3000 tyres per annum and the same
had increased to 400, 000 and earned
market share of more than 40% with
quality leadership. This changed the
fortune of the company.
2. Second task was given to me by my best
friend, colleague, the then Technical
Service Head, U.S. Oberoi. This happened
in the year 1986. During that time
Goodyear introduced a tyre called CT-169,
and claimed as a mileage leader in the
market place. Oberoi advised me to
develop a tyre to compete with the
Goodyear product and to take major
market share in the load and mileage
segment. We developed a tyre with
innovative tread and compounding
technology and embedded on Hercules
“Hercules Loadstar changed the
fortune of the company. Initial
production was only 3000 tyres
per annum and the same had
increased to 400, 000 and earned
market share of more than 40%
with quality leadership. The
positive attitude of my team
members and my belief in me
and my people had paved the
way to develop the tyre,
perfect the same, and establish
leadership position.”
1. First incident comes in mind is the task
given by Onkar Kanwar and D.V. Kohli in
the year 1981. Kanwar was inducted into
the company when the company was
continuously making losses, morale of
the employees were at the bottom and
quality reputation of the product was
poor. Then Sales Director, Kohli
convinced Kanwar that the quality
reputation of the company can only be
revived if technology can develop a
product for heavy load market and
create a stiff competition to Modi N-416,
the then market leader in that segment
with 60% market share. I was asked to
develop a tyre for heavy load market
using existing man power and facilities.
Even though it was an herculean task at
that time, the positive attitude of my
team members and my belief in me and
my people had paved the way to develop
the tyre, perfect the same, and establish
P.K. Mohamed
17

tyre technology were not tested at all. On
the strength of great belief on our
capabilities, and technological knowhow,
Neeraj Kanwar decided to set up a new
plant with the capacity of 2 million tyres
per annum in Chennai. After taking this
decision, he gave the responsibility of
setting up plant and selection of
equipment to K. Prabhakar and process
and product development to myself. We
had sleepless nights because we did not
have a proven product, process technology
and an established market. But myself and
K. Prabhakar worked like a single soul,
“On the strength of great
belief on our capabilities, and
technological knowhow,
Neeraj Kanwar decided to set
up a new plant with the
capacity of 2 million tyres per
annum in Chennai.”
platform. Even though, initially we had
many problems with the performance of
the tyres, we as a team solved them one by
one. And ultimately the tyre became the
volume, quality and price leader in the
Indian market. Production of this tyre
increased from initial 6000 tyres to over
500,000 per annum.
3. Third task was given to me by our young,
dynamic leader Neeraj Kanwar in the year
2006. This was the development of TBR
tyres with excellent durability, to establish
the same in the market place, and earn
brand leadership similar to the global
competitors. During that time all
companies, except JK, were struggling hard
to establish their TBR tyres in the market
place. JK’s TBR tyre, JDH was very well
known in the load segment and our
challenge was to create a product credibly
competing with JDH in the Indian market.
Apollo was well known for the production
of high quality bias tyres then but our
knowledge and experience in truck radial
18
Apollo Chennai Plant
(ImageSource:Cardekho.com)

through improvement in product
performance, brand building and marketing
your products in the markets and segments
where the value addition is high. It is also
essential to contain the cost of raw material
through innovation in tyre design,
manufacturing, and usage of alternate and
recycled materials, wherever the same is
possible through value engineering. Other
conversion cost such as labour, energy,
repair and maintenance have to be
controlled and wastage of material have to
be minimised with the support of every team
member involved in the process.
PW: Today, profitability for tire
producers is from falling raw material
prices, which may not be a true
reflection for the future. Strategically,
where do you see opportunities for tire
producers like Apollo to build sustaining
profitability while creating more value
to your customers?
PKM: We are fully aware of this aspect and
our Chairman and Vice Chairman are
always emphasizing on this, the way you
mentioned. Product cost of a tyre is highly
influenced by raw material input cost. The
value addition on raw material cost is very
low in the developing countries like India.
But at the same time it is good in developed
countries. In developing countries, the
value addition on raw material cost may
vary between 40 to 70% but at the same
time this may way vary more than 100%
in developed countries. Tyre Industry is a
special industry where the R&D,
marketing and sale expenses are relatively
high. So it is necessary to create better
value addition on raw material cost
19
“It is necessary to create better
value-addition on raw material
cost through improvement in
product performance, brand
building and marketing your
products in the markets and
segments where the value-
addition is high.”

“We as a team used all our knowledge,
experience, expertise and worked in
the areas of productive and non
productive time and reduced the
mixing cycle from 300 seconds to
180 second for a batch from master
to final.”
provided the right leadership to our next
line leaders like T.R.Gopalakrishnan
(Technology & Process Development) and
C. Krishnakumar (Projects & Equipment).
We commissioned this plant, developed
process technology and products suitable
for Indian market, and established the
same in the market place. We are now
doubling Chennai Plant from 2 million to
4.1 million tyres per annum. We are one
of the well-known players in truck radial
tyres in Indian market. My satisfaction is
that, after starting and establishing the
development of bias tyres at Apollo, I also
had an opportunity to manage the
transition from bias to radial tyre
technology and establish TBR tyres.
4. Another small challenge I remember was
given by Neeraj Kanwar. Kanwar after
visiting a few international plants came
and advised us to enhance the mixing
capacity to be in line with international
plants. This was required to expand our
bias tyre capacity without any fresh
investment in the mixing area. During
that time our mixing cycle to produce
one batch from master to final, was more
than 300 seconds. We as a team used all
our knowledge, experience, expertise
and worked in the areas of productive
and non productive time and reduced
the mixing cycle from 300 seconds to 180
second for a batch from master to final.
This helped to make huge saving on
investment in man power, equipment,
building and utility.
I hope that I have provided enough example
of challenges given by my leaders, Onkar
Knwar and Neeraj Kanwar, which has
helped me to keep motivated and perform
beyond my expectation.
Know A Leader - Machinery World 2016Rubber & Tyre | JAN
22

Would you say that rubberPW:
compounding has undergone change in
the last decades that you have been with
rubber industry? What were the drivers
for this change? What role has
machinery played in this change?
In general, all industries arePKM:
influenced by the changes happening in the
environment, regulations, standards and of
course the developments happening in the
industries around the same business. We
have witnessed major changes in the
automobile industries, particularly in the
environmental and legal requirements. The
adoption of ABS breaking system by the
automobile industries demanded higher
wet and dry traction for tread compounds
used for the tyres. The introduction of tyre
labeling system in Europe, and in a few
more countries, forced the tyre
manufacturers to design their tyres with
better traction, rolling resistance and
reduced noise level. In truck categories of
tyres, customers are demanding better
mileage, durability and retreading
capabilities. All these changes demanded
newer raw materials and significant
alterations in compound design, mixing,
extrusion and curing technology. Key
equipment manufacturers have responded
very well to the requirement of the tyre
industries and some of them developed new
equipment and others modified their
existing equipment to process these
materials, compounds and components in
the desired way.
Extrusion Inside Apollo Chennai Plant
“Changes demanded newer
raw materials and significant
alterations in compound design
mixing, extrusion and curing
technology.”
23

PW: How do you envision tyre building
shaping up in the next 10 years? As a
technologist, what are your expectations
from a machinery manufacturer/supplier
to achieve this vision?
As we all know, the tyre buildingPKM:
machine is one piece of equipment which is
used by the tyre engineer to convert tyre
layout into actual green tyre. This is a very
critical process. The tyre technologist
expects that this process to happen with
bare minimum movements of components
placed in the respective position of tyres. If
changes happen as against his expectation,
the performance of the tyre will have a
very adverse impact. Even though tyre
building equipment manufacturers have
done enough development in the areas
of cycle time reduction, application of
component, its accuracy and
repeatability, there are several areas
which need attention to improve the
uniformity, cycle time and accuracy of
component placement. The cycle time of
carcass drum is 80 to 90% more than
shaping and B&T drums which
determines the overall productivity of
“There are several areas (in
Tyre Building Machinery)
which need attention to
improve the uniformity,
cycle time and accuracy of
component placement.”
24
Inside Apollo Chennai Plant

tyre building machine. Automation can
be enhanced in the machine in the areas
like ply zipping operation etc, to improve
the cycle time. In order to minimize tyre
failures in the areas of tread splice and
turn up, possibilities of application of
strip tread can be explored to avoid
splices related failures and bead
clamping device and its holding pressure
can be modified to improve the
performance in the bead area. All the
above have to be done to realize the
vision of the tyre technologist of creating
the best product in his mind.
PW: What new ideas are energizing the
tire industry globally? How much of
these ideas is facilitated by
developments or improvements in
machinery?
PKM: I am witnessing several changes in the
tyre manufacturing process to meet the
challenges of tyre technology and to meet
such changes, equipment manufacturers are
working in tandem. Many of these changes
are happening to meet the rules set by
regulatory authorities, enhancement in
performance requirements of replacement
customers and OEMs and in processing of
new material.
Inside Apollo Chennai Plant
“Automation can be
enhanced in the machine in
the areas like ply zipping
operation etc., to improve
the cycle time.”
25

“Mixing processes are changing
from several steps of mixing to
single-step; single RPM mixing
to variable RPM and also to
RPM down mixing.”
I am witnessing a sea change in the area of
mixing. The introduction of Silica filler, in
combination with solution SBR and Silane
coupling agent, revolutionised mixing,
extrusion, building and curing technology
and their equipment configuration. Earlier
mixing process was known as a physical
processes and today the same is known as
a chemical process.
The equipment manufacturers have
developed tandem mixing, for mixing
silica compounds to enhance its
consistency and productivity.
Tangential mixer manufacturers have
improved their rotors design with better
cooling capabilities. The configuration of
rotor wings are changed to enhance
distributive and disperse mixing. Special
coating were given to rotors, ram bottom
and walls to take care of wear and tear.
Mixing processes are changing from several steps of
mixing to single step, single RPM mixing to variable
RPM and also to RPM down mixing. As the tyre
technology is changing from optimised performance
of each components of a tyre, the placement of such
components accurately in a tyre has become a
challenge. Thankfully the design technology is
improved considerably in extrusion equipment. And
today we have extruders which can assemble 4 to 6
components in a tread and extrude as single piece. In
order to avoid excessive shrinkage and distortion due
to poor green strength of recent materials, the
28
Image: L&T-Kobelco Make Internal Mixer
Image: Tandem Mixer

29
Image: L&T Make Optima Curing Press
recent materials, the handling method of
extruded treads are improved. Similar
changes are taking places in Tyre Building
and Curing Equipment. Curing is moving
from high temperature cures to low
temperature cures to enhance performance,
and mould venting system and lubrication
system is making dramatic changes to
enhance the much needed tyre appearance.

further increases when it comes to the tread
design. Tread is responsible not only for
providing adequate traction, mileage, and
water drainage but also need to cater to
other performance requirement of rolling
resistance and noise. It is noticed that,
several new concepts such as Natural
Inflated Profile (NIP) and Tension Controlled
Optimized Theory (TCOT), have been tried
by several companies but the tyre
technologist is yet not very successful in
creating a carcass which can withstand
under inflated condition and provide the
same performance. This still remains as a
challenge. In the case of tread, several
developments have taken place to enhance
water drainage & traction improvement,
reduction in foot print pressure & noise and
improvement in aesthetics and aggressive
looks. While the pattern design methodology
followed by many companies generally
follow same guidelines, significant
deviations are seen recently to meet the new
found challenges in meeting label values in
RR, traction and noise. In depth
understanding is required to make
significant alterations in tried and tested
“Tyre technology is an
amalgamation of science and
engineering. It is dominated by
physics, chemistry, mechanical
and chemical engineering. Tyre
is a product which is a unique
combination of steel and
rubber.”
30
Tyre design is a fascinating topicPW:
though few people really understand
the differences in design between
brands. How has the design of tyres
really changed during as you witnessed
it? What were the key factors driving this
change?
PKM: Tyre technology is an amalgamation
of science and engineering. It is dominated
by physics, chemistry, mechanical and
chemical engineering. Tyre is a product
which is a unique combination of steel and
rubber. Steel is responsible to withstand all
stresses experienced by the tyre and rubber
is responsible for taking care of its strain.
Such an intelligent sharing of stresses and
strain is rarely seen in any other product
other than a tyre. So it is a challenge for
the tyre engineer to design a carcass of a
tyre with minimal strain on material when
the same is stressed by inflation, vehicle
load or traction loads. This challenge

PW: With automation being extensively
deployed in every step of tyre production
today, what are the key trends happening
in tire testing aspect?
PKM: In my opinion, the automation in tyre
industry, especially in India, is deployed
selectively because the cost of automation
is very high and the expertise required to
make it work smoothly is also high. It is
possible to manage tyre manufacturing
with the above principle. The countries
where the cost of capital is very high, the
value addition on manufacturing cost and
labour cost is low. This principle can be
employed effectively to produce good
quality products with accuracy and
repeatability. Several developments are
taking place in the internal and external
designs to meet ever increasing performance
requirements and advanced design
simulation tools are of great use for the tyre
designers in this process. With the usage of
new materials and improvements in
compound properties, tyre technologists are
now trying to tune the behavior of new
compounds in different designs for optimal
performance in a given operating condition.
“The automation in tyre
industry, especially in India, is
deployed selectively because
the cost of automation is very
high and the expertise
required to make it work
smoothly is also high.”
Image: Quality Check Inside Apollo Plant
31

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testing. Forensic analysis methods have
improved considerably and reached a
stage where we can pin point the failure
more accurately. Reverse engineering
capabilities have enhanced in terms of
equipment and expertise which provides
accurate information to reconstruct a
formulation and also identification of
material.
Microscopic technique capabilities have
enhanced considerably to understand the
physical and chemical nature of the material
and its final form. Even though all these
improvements are available in India, the
gap is evident very much in external testing
capabilities. Developing necessary facility
for external testing is highly essential for the
development of tyre, provide accurate
information to OEM for their development
and improvement of tyre performance in
the areas of handling, traction characteristic
and noise level. Also these types of testing
are extremely essential to generate the
necessary and sufficient validation results
for developing simulation methods, which
will soon take a significant place in testing.
PW: Manufacturers find it difficult to
carry hand-in-hand “superior
technology” and “low-cost” expectations
in rubber and tire machinery/
equipment? As a tyre producer (i.e
consumer of machinery), what are your
views to this dilemma?
PKM: In my opinion, the tyre manufacturer
is looking for high value for their
investment. They are very cautious in
selecting a machines because its
35
repeatability, accuracy, break down,
productive & non productive time, machine
mounting space, ease of maintenance and of
course the price, are the critical factors
which are considered prior to selecting a
machine. Even though some of the
manufacturers are attractive on price, they
are failing in several areas I mentioned
above, which may make the equipments
costlier. Engineering companies are capable
of designing equipment with all features
needed by the tyre industry but at the same
time they are lacking process knowledge
which are needed for establishing the
processes to produce high quality products
with accuracy and repeatability. So there is
an urgent need for the tyre equipment
manufacturers to work very closely with
the tyre manufacturer for the development
of equipment which can meet all the above
requirement at a reasonable cost. This may
help to resolve issue raised by you. If you
take any productive equipment, you may
notice that the total time for the production
of unit is a combination of machine and
man time. There is enough scope of reducing
both components of time, if adequate
attention is provided. The implementation
of this concept may revolutionise the
process which may make both sides
happier.
“There is an urgent need for the
tyre equipment manufacturers
to work very closely with the
tyre manufacturer for the
development of equipment
which can meet all the above
requirement at a reasonable
cost.”

PW: Great! And one last question. What advice
on “machinery selection” would you give to
buyers in rubber and tyre industry?
PKM: I have expressed my views on this aspect,
while answering the previous question. To
elaborate a little more I wish to inform the readers
of this interview that tyre manufacturing processes
are designed by the tyre, material and process
technologists and hence the equipment and process
conditions used for producing the tyre should match
the process requirement of its compound, and
components. It is also essential that the same should
meet the threshold limits of temperature, pressure
accuracy, stresses and strain. This can only be
achieved through proper understanding of process
requirement.
“Tyre manufacturing processes are
designed by the tyre, material and
process technologists and hence the
equipment and process conditions
used for producing the tyre should
match the process requirement of
its compound, and components.”
RMW
P.K. Mohamed
36

KELACHANDRA MACHINES
(MFRS. OF RUBBER INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY)
Chingavanam - 686 531, Kottayam, Kerala. India.
Phone Off: +91- 481-2430325. Fax: +91- 481-2430596
e-mail: km1912@gmail.com

Interview With A Tyre Leader_PK Mohamed_Apollo Tyres

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