Be it a large factory, warehouse or small work shop, material handling equipment are needed for effortless material movement inside the unit. Manpreet Sachdeva, President, Elite Group, believes that though there is a temporary slowdown in economy, the demand for material handling equipment will continue to grow as they are necessary for efficient performance of manufacturing across industries.

 

How do you see the potential of material handling equipment (MHE) sector in India?

India is the world’s second largest rising economy and has a lot of potential for material handling equipment. The MHE sector has seen a growth more than 15 per cent last year.

 

How are you catering to the MHE sector?

We manufacture equipment to make life easier in the workshop. Be it a large factory, warehouse or small work shop, we have products to save time and ensure effortless material movement inside the unit.

 

For small MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) units, we fabricate trolleys and HPTs which are light and extended lasting. Warehouse which has loading unloading dock levelers are manufactured by us. We also offer special products like scissor lift and goods lift for government sector and aircrafts.

 

What drives the demand for MHE?

The demand for material handling is always there and this is driven by volumes, as the volume increases, the demand also increases. Most of our orders are repeat orders from same customers who have been using our products.

 

What are challenges faced by MHE makers in India?

Though the market of material handling equipment is growing in India, it is small. So, as MHE makers, we have to invest our capital as per the market only.

 

How is rise in automation leading to changes in MHE industry? How is your company reacting to the need of automated MHE products?

Most of the manual labour has been slowly fading and there is a general trend with customers where they want things to be automated. We have upgraded our manufacturing facility by adding a lot of new products to meet the changing market demands.

 

Has the recent slowdown in GDP growth affected the MHE sector? And, with the new Government in place, do you see demand for MHE improving in 2019-20?

There is just a temporary slowdown in economy from the Q2 which will get better by Q4 of next year. We expect India to take the lead and 2020 will see a lot of improvement in overall demand of material handling equipment products.

 

Are you planning to launch any new MHE in the near future? If yes, please elaborate

We are preparing for the revolution and have plans to launch new products, which are currently in research & development (R&D) stage, by 2020. New developments are aimed at saving cost, which then can be passed on to the customers.

 

What are the latest trends in material handling equipment? What is the outlook for MHE industry in India?

The latest the trend in MHE are customers are demanding more life of products and also are demanding a lower cost. So, we are always on our toes to refine the design in all aspects of a product like function, lifespan, price, etc.

 

For the new government to take complete charge and start the Indian revolution it will take a while. After that the market will improve. 

Material handling equipment play a dynamic role in industrial manufacturing in all sectors.

 

To sum up, supply chain in any country can only advance when all of us work together and give importance to every detail at the micro level.