Summer Internship at Apollo Tyres Ltd.

As a mechanical engineering student who wishes to do a core internship, the wait to get a good opportunity is quite long and agonizing. I, for instance, got this internship opportunity after the end semester exams which ended this May. The opportunity, however, proved to be exciting and the wait was worth it. Before I start describing my internship experience, let me first introduce you to the company at which I interned, Apollo Tyres Ltd.

The Company

Apollo Tyres Ltd. is an Indian multinational tyre manufacturer based in Gurugram, Haryana. The company operates 5 manufacturing facilities in India, 1 in the Netherlands, and 1 in Hungary. It has over 2,500 exclusive stores and nearly 5,000 dealerships across India. India generates 69% of the company’s sales followed by Europe (26%) and other regions (5%).

To establish a new facility, the company and the state of Andhra Pradesh signed an MoU in 2016. The foundation stone was laid on January 9, 2018, for Apollo Tyres' 1,800-crore tyre plant in Andhra Pradesh by the then Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. It is a 250-acre facility in Chinna Pandur village near Sri City in Tirupati district that manufactures both passenger car radial (PCR) tyres and truck and bus radial (TBR) tyres.

The company offers Internships for students from Electrical, Chemical & Mechanical backgrounds. The tasks that the intern has to perform majorly deal with Cost and Resources (Water, Electricity, fuel, etc.) optimisation. This is one of the major things that I would like to bring to the notice of core engineering students. Students assume that they are expected to work directly on topics related to tyre production, such as its composition, manufacturing processes, etc., and show reluctance towards the internship.

Relevant Skills and Courses

In this internship, I found concepts such as Turbines, Chimneys, Cooling Towers, Chillers, Air Handling Units, Compressors, Exhaust Systems, and Pneumatic and Hydraulic systems to be of great relevance. Courses in Thermal Engineering, Fluid Mechanics, and Heat & Mass Transfer proved to be of great help. Machines work under heavy loads all the time, so the chances for damage to machine elements are higher. The Design of Machine Elements course proved to be extremely useful in this regard. I would like to highlight the point that it is not always necessary that knowledge in core subjects is enough. I found that having good knowledge about interpersonal skills was helpful while interacting with staff and collecting the required information. Apart from that, data representation and presentation skills, such as using Excel and PowerPoint make your work stand out and it makes computation very easy and presentable.

Projects I worked on

While interning, I worked on two projects. The first is Evaporation Losses & Remedial Actions and the second is Liner Damage in Tread Cassettes.

My first project dealt with working on the efficiency and the incurred costs for alternative cooling mechanisms. In the industry, water is used as the primary coolant. However using water as the only coolant, causes a great deal of wastage of water. To explore alternatives for the same and determine their feasibility, I did a detailed cost and technical analysis on the following:

1. Air Cooled Chillers (ACC)
2. Water Cooled Chillers (WCC)

Apart from that, I designed a Heat Exchanger of low temperature operating range (7-12 ℃) to be paired with the Chiller. This is because direct use of the chiller across the higher temperature difference generated by the fluid and refrigerant affects its performance. By working on this problem statement, I was able to minimize 26% water usage per day.This water would otherwise be lost in cooling towers during evaporation & blowdown.

Before I give a review of what my second project was, let me explain what a tread is. Tread is the outermost layer of the tyre which is winded up into cassettes with liner supports after production and before being used in the tyre manufacturing process. During the windup process, due to several reasons, the liner gets damaged. This damaged liner cannot be repaired but only be replaced, without which it causes unwanted impressions on the tread material affecting the tyre quality. So, a detailed study was done on various instances causing problems in the tread which in turn damages the liner. Each of the scenarios were carefully studied and the observations were analysed, and a detailed report was made along with a few preventive measures.

Outcomes

Working on a problem statement relevant at the industry level provides you with a way to apply your theoretical knowledge on the subject. A good way of working on this skill is by doing projects under experienced mentors. Projects help you understand how to apply the theoretical knowledge you gain from books and what all parameters should be verified apart from the technical stuff before implementing your proposed technology or machinery. Interning helped me realise that an internship is not just another two credits on your grade sheet but a glimpse of the bigger picture on how an industry works; how much effort is needed to run the company,the importance of synchronisation among various units, tackling undesirable situations in time, etc. In short, industrial exposure is extremely beneficial, especially when one wants to become an entrepreneur.

I had a wonderful and eye-opening experience at Apollo tyres. Talking with people and getting to know about their different outlooks on career, experiences and listening to their valuable suggestions proved to be of significant importance. The work culture and environment is far better than what one usually thinks of a tyre company. Interning here at Apollo Tyres Ltd. was indeed a memorable experience.