Surender Singh Kandhari arrived in Dubai in late 1975 on an exploratory four-day visit and returned three months later to set up a tyre business in Deira, what was the start of Al Dobowi Group. He later revealed that the name Al Dobowi was given to him by a Dubai Municipality, which means ‘the man from Dubai’ in Arabic.
From research and design, manufacturing and distribution, to retail and service, family-owned Al Dobowi is involved in every aspect of tyre management solutions, and also the largest battery manufacturer in the region. Growing through significant partnerships with the world’s best known tyre brands, the group has grown to become one of the largest tyre distribution companies in the world.
In the Middle East, the tyre industry was valued at $2.4bn in 2016 and, according to Frost and Sullivan, is expected to reach $3.6bn in 2021, growing 9 percent annually.
He also started his own brand of tyre, Infinity Tyres, based in West Africa. Al Dobowi is also the exclusive distributor for Pirelli and Bergougnan tyres through its subsidiary General Automotive Services Co Ltd, (GASCOL).
By natural growth, it has since branched out into batteries, where it has become a leading global distributor, and also lubricants, conveyor belt systems and technical rubber products.
The group also has overseas operations in UK (Manchester), where it is the sole distributor for Europe for Westlake tyres.
Kandhari is also renowned for his philanthropy, contributing nearly $20m to build the first official Sikh temple (gurudwara ) in the Middle East in Jebel Ali Village. Built on land donated by the Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the structure is more than 100,000 sq ft and has served over 40,000 worshippers in a single day. The gurudwara had its opening ceremony in 2012 and is number 12 on Tripadvisor’s list of top things to do in Dubai.
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