Apollo Tyres celebrates 15th anniversary of Vredestein acquisition with new tulip variant

Apollo Tyres has commissioned an all-new variant of tulip, a plant closely associated with the Netherlands, to mark the 15th anniversary of the company’s acquisition of Vredestein, as well as the recent 115th anniversary of the formation of the iconic Dutch premium tyre brand.  

Named as a tribute to the Kanwar family which founded and owns Apollo Tyres, the ‘Kanwar Tulip’ is notable for its highly distinctive purple petals, which echo the primary hue of the Apollo Tyres logo. A bouquet of Kanwar Tulips was presented last week to Apollo Tyres chairman Onkar Kanwar and vice- chairman and managing director Neeraj Kanwar during their visit to Amsterdam. 

The unique cultivar of the Kanwar Tulip was specially bred by Jan Ligthart, and the first batch were grown at Den Helder, north of Amsterdam. 

Vredestein was founded in 1908 to design and manufacture bicycle tyres in Loosduinen in the Netherlands. Building momentum over the first few years of operation, the company diversified into the production of car tyres in 1912. 

In 1952, the company opened its Enschede factory in the Twente region in eastern Netherlands, which has continued to produce an award-winning range of summer, winter and all-season passenger car tyres. The facility enabled Vredestein to become pioneers in the all-season tyre segment, most notably through the launch of the first Quatrac tyre in 1991 – a popular model line that continues to receive critical acclaim across Europe.  

The Vredestein brand presented Apollo Tyres with the perfect entry into Europe’s highly competitive premium tyre market. Since the acquisition in 2009, Apollo Tyres has continued to invest in its European R&D and European production capabilities, creating premium-quality tyres that offer superior levels of performance, durability and safety at an attractive price point.  

Benoit Rivallant, President of Apollo Tyres Europe, said: “Since 2009, we have seen the Vredestein brand go from strength to strength, and we are honoured to be a part of its continued success story. Although very much still routed in its Dutch heritage, the brand is now recognised globally for its impressive variety of industry-leading tyres for cars, trucks, agricultural machinery and bicycles; it has been instrumental to the development of Apollo Tyres in Europe.” 

Since acquiring Vredestein, Apollo Tyres has overseen a number of significant product developments and projects. In 2014, it launched the Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme S, expanding the Vredestein brand’s winter tyre portfolio. In the same year, the company invested in the Enschede manufacturing plant to increase production capacity and meet growing demand in Europe. In 2015, Apollo Tyres expanded its agricultural product line with the launch of the Traxion Harvest, and with new variants of the Traxion Versa and Endurion. 

2017 marked the opening of Apollo tyres’ new state-of-the-art production facility in Hungary which, alongside the Enschede plant in the Netherlands, is responsible for Europe’s first dedicated all-season EV tyre, the Quatrac Pro EV, and the recently launched Ultrac Pro ultra-ultra-high-performance (UUHP) summer tyre. Both products have received critical acclaim from leading testers and publications across the continent.  

Images: Vredestein