Constructing A Sustainable Future

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. As the projects are becoming larger and complex, we need matching technologies, equipment and skill for successful execution of such projects. In this scenario, how are construction equipment and technology players coming out with new solutions. Construction Times explores.

Infrastructure continues to be the primary driver of economic growth as India has seen growing activities of infrastructure creation over the past few years which has propelled the construction activities in the country. Coupled with this, the mining activities are also witnessing momentum in coal and iron ore segments, and in other non-ferrous minerals. All these will push up India’s goal to become $5 trillion economy soon. As India gears up to become a developed nation by 2047 on the basis of world-class infrastructure, the construction equipment industry has a huge growth potential, creating high demand for various construction equipment. In order to cater this growing requirement, the Indian CE industry aims at a CAGR of 12% to attain a sales volume of 250,000-260,000 units by 2030. The CE players are gearing up their technology proves to excel in producing technologically advanced equipment that can meet the requirements of not only Indian market, but also global market.

The Excon 2023 to be held in Bengaluru during December 12-16 will be a platform for leading construction equipment and technology players in India and global players to showcase their technology prowess.

Growing domestic demand

Rapid expansion of mining operations and infrastructure projects in the Asia Pacific region has led to a parallel growth of the construction equipment market. In India, the government’s robust initiatives in infrastructure development, urbanisation, and industrialisation have propelled the demand for construction machinery. “The ongoing spurt in demand for construction equipment at the back of infrastructure development is, thus, expected to continue in the near future as well and we expect the growth momentum to sustain for the current fiscal year 2023-24,” says V Vivekanand, President, ICEMA and Managing Director, Caterpillar India.

Technology to lead

There is a strong focus on reliability, efficiency, digitalisation, telematics, IOT, and aspects of sustainability from the customers. “Given that India is the fastest-growing major economy, our customers are constantly looking for machines that offer higher productivity with maximum uptime so that machine utilisation is very high and customers get maximum value from their investment. We make sure machines offer quality, reliability, and durability through a strong after-market support network that helps customers derive the maximum from every piece of equipment,” says Arvind K Garg, Senior Vice President and Head, L&T Construction & Mining Machinery, Larsen & Toubro.

Schwing Stetter India has introduced Schwing IoT Ready, a cloud-based platform that enables remote monitoring and management of Schwing equipment. “This platform provides real-time data on performance, maintenance, and diagnostics of Schwing equipment, allowing users to optimise their operations, reduce downtime, and enhance efficiency. Schwing IoT Ready is compatible with all Schwing equipment and can be accessed through any device with an internet connection,” says V G Sakthikumar, Chairman & MD, Schwing Stetter India.

Technology plays a lead role in Wirtgen Group’s range of cold milling, soil stabilisation, hot and cold recycling, concrete paving and surface mining machines. “All the machines offered by Wirtgen are equipped with computer-assisted automated features which not only optimise operating processes and machine productivity but also improve operator performance. Intelligent information and diagnostic systems additionally support and relieve the operator, resulting in a faster and more efficient way of working,” highlights Ramesh Palagiri, Managing Director & CEO, Wirtgen India.

Eco-friendly green technologies are trending now in the construction industry as part of sustainability initiatives to meet the future needs towards net-zero goals. “Tata Hitachi promotes the eco-friendly design of our products and services. Apart from ensuring that our wheeled equipment adheres to the regulatory requirements of CEV-4 emission norms, we are also working to ensure that our excavators are compatible with futuristic emission norms. In addition, we also maintain the target of reducing fuel consumption for all our products and models through engineering innovations,” adds BKR Prasad, General Manager – Marketing, Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Company.

When it comes to fuel efficiency of construction equipment, fuel monitoring technologies play a key role in the optimum use of fuels. OMNICOMM offers turnkey, best-in-class, one-pack fuel monitoring solutions, consisting of the SaaS Omnicomm platform, Omnicomm GPS tracker and high-precision fuel sensors. “Our solution helps to optimise cost and save up to 40% on fuel,” says Svetlana Zakharova, Managing Director, OMNICOMM India.

“We believe the technology and deep application knowledge is the competitive advantage that Danfoss has and we continue to foster the same. We want to represent ourselves as a preferred technology partners for all our customers. In the era of fast changing technology landscape and end user buying/operating behaviours we have consistently invested in the cutting-edge technologies from IOT, intelligent solutions to AI and with the world-class innovation centre in Pune with 300+ engineers and state-of-the-art hydraulics testing facility, we believe we can help our customers to solve some of the toughest problems effectively,” updates Anil Ghegade, Sr Director – India Innovation Centre, Danfoss Power Solutions.

Effective after-market service

For a construction equipment customer, the uptime of the equipment depends not only on technology and other features, but also very much on after-market services. For Ajax Engineering the key to effective customer service includes: “Enhance after-sales support and training programs to empower customers in maximising the benefits of our solutions; Maintain a customer-centric approach and foster agility in adapting to changing requirements for effective future service; and Embrace digitalisation as a core strategy, leveraging advanced technologies to enhance customer interactions, streamline processes, and stay ahead in an increasingly digitised landscape,” says Shubhabrata Saha, MD & CEO, Ajax Engineering.

Rentals in construction

“Penetrating more than 40 percent in categories like crawler cranes, hydraulic cranes, and piling rigs, rentals have become a compelling option for contractors. Encouragingly, contractors are increasingly adopting an asset-light model, opting to rent equipment rather than make substantial capital investments,” points out Satin Sachdeva, Founder and Secretary General, CERA (Construction Equipment Rental Association), and MD, Equipment Planet.

According to Avinash S, Director, Infra Engineers India Pvt Ltd (IEPL), India has emerged as the epicentre for construction equipment, with a remarkable potential for growth also in the used construction equipment segment. Simultaneously, the demand for attachments is witnessing a consistent upsurge. “In this thriving landscape, IEPL remains determined in its commitment to excel in both the used construction equipment and attachments markets,” he asserts.

Demand drivers

Ghegade says, “India has made strong progress in overall infrastructure development over last decade or so but, I believe the infrastructure is still under-developed as we look at the scale and diversity of India as a region. Economic growth will continue to be fuelled by the infrastructure investments and we will see a consistent investment by public and private players.” On the sustainble development, he adds, “Sustainable growth is a focus for all our customers, and we see a great amount of awareness across all our customers for the same. This means machines will need to last longer and be more productive, this calls for more reliable and safer products. This is exactly what Danfoss hoses offer – a reliable industry proven legacy of engineering coupled with world-class process control resulting in the best quality hoses on offer.”

Excon: Meeting the needs

Over the years, Excon has been a wonderful platform for the CE players to exhibit cutting-edge equipment and services. Says Deepak Shetty, CEO & Managing Director, JCB India, “Excon is the festival of the construction equipment industry as it is an event that gets all stakeholders in one place. Today, our industry has a strong potential for growth due to the focus of the government towards infrastructure development. Excon will showcase the vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat with a drive towards Make in India for the world. It is also a great platform to display the industry’s commitment to technology and sustainability and we look forward to welcoming everyone to the JCB stand at Excon 2023.”

Shalabh Chaturvedi, Managing Director, CASE Construction Equipment, adds, “It has provided us the opportunity to engage with customers, dealers, policymakers, and other stakeholders on this platform, which additionally enables us to showcase our state-of-the-art machineries. This year too, we would like to utilise this exceptional opportunity to draw footfalls to our pavilion at the trade show and boost interest from our consumers in our range of smart equipment.”

Excon serves as a crucial platform for Ammann to showcase its latest technologies and services to customers. According to Anand Sundaresan, Managing Director, Ammann India, the company plans to use this platform to highlight its new product launches, forge new partnerships, and strengthen relationships with existing customers.

Dimitrov Krishnan, Managing Director, Volvo CE India, elaborates on the plans at Excon, “Embracing the responsibility of leading the construction equipment (CE) industry’s transformative shift from conventional fuels to eco-friendly technologies, this Excon marks the initial strides of the change we committed to. Our e-MOB products will be showcased, providing customers with first-hand experience of cutting-edge technologies, and illustrating how this transformation can enhance their business operations. We are actively engaging with our customers and industry stakeholders through various channels to ensure awareness of Volvo CE’s planned activities at Excon 2023.”

“Excon 2023 is an opportunity to showcase our customers that we are ready to join their force and work synergically towards shaping India’s infrastructure landscape,” says Amit Bansal, Marketing Head, Building Construction Products Division, Caterpillar. This year, Caterpillar will be showcasing its comprehensive product solutions with the range of Cat and other Caterpillar brand equipment, highlight latest offerings, aftermarket services and financial solutions that differentiate it from the competitions.

“Exhibiting at Excon gives us the chance to put our brand in the spotlight. This heightened visibility helps us strengthen our brand presence in the market. Staying ahead of the competition is essential, and Excon allows us to demonstrate our technological advancements and innovation. This helps differentiating us from competitors and position our brand as a leader in the field,” adds Kalpesh Soni, Vice President – Marketing, KYB Conmat. The company will be showcasing its range of products as well as new product launches.

Rajiv Poddar, Joint Managing Director, Balkrishna Industries, adds, “Our participation at the Excon this year will be a continuation of a decade-long association that has helped us grow and expand our presence in the industry.”

“We expect that this edition of Excon will continue this contribution to the industry with more ideas being generated and more visitor footfall,” says Sundaram Iyer, Managing Director, OLI Vibrators India.

Southern Electronics will be demonstrating newly developed products, which will give more benefits and value for money. M R Bhaskar, Director, Southern Electronics (Bangalore), says, “We intend to be in the mining and infrastructure projects to provide products which will enhance the safety of the operators and their associates. In this context, we have developed many products including Geo-tech instruments,” he adds.

According to Veeresh Manrai, General Manager – Business Development, Southco Manufacturing, the company will showcase proven as well as new product solutions: Entry door latch systems to secure vehicle entry and enable remote actuation; Robust and vibration-resistant locks and latches for chassis applications, keeping dust and dirt out and reducing noise; Positioning hinges and monitor mounts for cab interior to allow operators to adjust equipment to unique preferences; and Electronic locks and access controllers that easily integrate with smart and autonomous vehicles for increased security and safety.

When the going gets tough…

Going ahead, the projects are becoming bigger in scale and complex in nature. Over the years, we have seen many challenging projects completed successfully after facing execution challenges. Many similar projects are going on while many are in the pipeline. There are tunnel projects in hilly terrain and underground tunnel projects in city limits which are challenging to execute and needs really matching technologies and equipment. The construction industry value chain including the construction contractors, equipment and technology provides needs to work in tandem to successfully overcome the challenges and emerge as winner. For India, exhibitions such as Excon can surely act as a platform for the construction industry to achieve its goals.