The government’s drive to improve infrastructure and energy supply is facilitating economic growth, which is in turn is giving a fillip to the construction equipment industry. Volvo Construction Equipment India expects continued strong growth in most of the segments that its serve, says Dimitrov Krishnan, Vice President and Head of Volvo CE India. While he supports the Make in India initiative, Krishnan feels the government’s decision to increasing import duties on components (including for commercial vehicles) will have direct impact on the company’s cost and pricing strategy. In this interaction with Rakesh Rao, Dimitrov Krishnan tracks the trends in construction equipment industry and Volvo CE’s growth plans for India.

 

How was 2017 for Volvo Construction Equipment? Did GST have an effect on your business in 2017? 

The government’s investment in infrastructure budget is positive for the sectors that Volvo CE serves such as road and railway construction, quarry, aggregates and irrigation. We expect continued strong growth in most of the segments we serve. 

 

While we are proud to support the Government’s Make in India initiative, the government is increasing the import duty from 10 per cent to 15 per cent for a range of parts and components, including for commercial vehicles, to help drive the initiative and generate additional revenues. This will directly impact our cost and businesses will have to make those associated pricing calls. 

 

What is driving the demand for construction equipment in India?

In 2018, with the government’s infrastructure push, we expect to see strong interest in the EC200D, which was designed specifically for general construction work. The excavator features our famed fuel efficiency, a bucket breakout force of 123 kN and an arm tearout force of 96 kN, which helps it deliver high job site productivity and fast cycle times.

 

Whatever the demands of the infrastructure or construction job, Volvo’s equipment offer the company’s hallmark qualities: industry-leading fuel efficiency and productivity levels that customers love the world over - particularly in India. Customers in India love Volvo machines so much because they can deliver the fuel savings they want but without the need to take on newer hybrid systems, instead utilising proven designs.

 

How is the backhoe loaders market in India?

Earthmoving is such a fundamental part of construction that it’s no surprise that excavators and backhoe loaders dominate sales. However, we are currently seeing sales of road-building equipment pick up dramatically.

 

Additionally, we are seeing the market in India maturing and companies recognise that specialist products deliver better productivity than generalist products. This is why sales of excavators are on the rise at the expense of the backhoes, which have traditionally been Indian contractors’ preferred machines. We definitely see that changing.

 

With the government making big investment in infrastructure (roads, railways, irrigation,etc), are you seeing things working on the ground with sustained demand for your construction equipment?

The government continues to place priority on building roads and bridges - allocating budget to build 35,000 km of road under phase one of the Bharatmala project, along with allocations for urban rail and airport expansion projects. The drive to improve infrastructure will unquestionably facilitate further growth in the economy and the construction equipment industry.

 

As a company, Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo) has deep roots in India and an established sales and support network. We are well-positioned to play our own part in the India’s development and are excited to do so. We remain the only major manufacturer present in all equipment sectors mining, road building or general construction.

 

We offer high quality and productive equipment that delivers the best levels of fuel efficiency in the industry. With Volvo CE, our customers can do more with their equipment and downtime is minimised. Our lower fuel consumption improves cost efficiency and means work environments are cleaner. Overall, our customers can enjoy high levels of return on investment and the reassurance of dealing with one of the world’s very best industrial companies.

 

What are the latest trends in construction equipment?

Increasingly customers need to do more with less, that’s why many of them have opted to monitor their fleet with our telematics system. CareTrack is a telematics system that gives equipment owners access to a wide range of machine monitoring information that can help save time and money. The system generates a wide range of reports with data on aspects such as fuel consumption, operational hours, geographical location and more. These reports are available via a web portal or can be received via SMS or email alerts. 

 

CareTrack can also be used to manage machine servicing and wear parts. This allows fleet managers to reduce fuel costs, optimise machine and operator performance, as well as proactively manage service and maintenance to maximise uptime.

 

CareTrack is offered not as a standard practice but as specialised packages designed to enhance customers’ businesses. 

 

Customers say they like the insight CareTrack provides, which supports them with maintenance, invoicing, fleet management and operator training. With CareTrack, customers can monitor load efficiency, number of cycles, overload percentages and identify operator training needs. For example, CareTrack can tell owners what time the machine operation starts, takes a break, and ends. What’s more, CareTrack allows owners to tap into a wealth of actionable data including fuel consumption, idle time, machine location, fluid levels and service alerts. With the time and labour savings CareTrack offers, customers say they view it as an investment rather than extra costs.

 

As owners are pushed to deliver more with less, CareTrack is a great way to proactively manage machines and increase uptime by planning service and maintenance requirement in advance, avoiding potential problems. It’s also possible for Volvo CE dealers to troubleshoot faults remotely - minimising service and downtime.   

 

Apart from selecting our telematics systems, many customers choose our pavers because we only manufacture sensor pavers at Volvo. At our plant in Bangalore, we manufacture two models: the P4370B ABG and the P5320 ABG, both of which have a maximum paving width of 7 m. Sensor pavers have intelligent operating technology that help control the machine in terms of mat thickness as well as the level of the mat and the grade required in the finished road. The paving quality of any road is defined by the ability of the paver to satisfy these three requirements in line with the highway design. Regular pavers without sensors simply follow the undulations of the road base and are therefore unable to give a smooth finish to a paved surface. In turn, this affects the traffic flow of the highway and increases maintenance requirements in the finished road. 

 

Any new products in the pipeline? If yes, could you please elaborate?

Volvo Construction Equipment’s EC200D is the fastest 20-ton class excavator on the market. With shorter cycle times and outstanding lifting capabilities it delivers significant productivity improvements for all types of general construction work.

 

The new EC200D offers premium Volvo features including world-class fuel efficiency, productivity, quality, safety and service availability. 

The EC200D’s exceptionally high swing torque and unique lifting capabilities make it the natural choice for general construction earthmoving work in India.

 

The excavator cycle time includes digging, swinging loaded, unloading and swinging empty. The faster the cycle can be finished, the higher the productivity for the machine. With the powerful Volvo D5E Tier 3 engine (with an output of 123 kW at 2,000 rpm), and compatible hydraulics, the EC200D is designed to operate fast and with short cycle times.

 

In addition, the EC200D is extremely well balanced which gives the machine outstanding loading and lifting capabilities at any boom and arm position.      

 

The operators feel right at home in the cab too as it features ergonomic design which provides the comfort and visibility synonymous with Volvo machines. The EC200D is extremely easy to control and the superior stability secures smooth and efficient operation of the machine.

 

The Volvo EC200D is a solid performer overall that offers excellent fuel efficiency and productivity in general construction applications such as road construction, building, landscaping and utility work. 

 

What are your growth plans for your company?

India’s potential is clear, and the drive to improve infrastructure and energy supply will unquestionably facilitate further growth in the economy and the construction equipment industry. As a company, Volvo CE has deep roots in India and an established sales and support network. We are well-positioned to play our own part in the next stage of India’s development and are excited to do so.