AJAX has always strived to be a 360° concreting solutions provider
It is one of the major areas of challenges what the CE industry is facing today.
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We are moving towards artificial intelligence and other advanced manufacturing concepts [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]What is your take on the liquidity crunch and how it has impacted the sales of equipment?
It is one of the major areas of challenges what the CE industry is facing today. There has been some delinquencies especially contractors not getting paid by the principal clients. Customers have become hesitant about new equipment, especially first time buyers. But we expect reasonable amount of business in the near future.
How much the CE market has dipped especially concrete equipment segment?
The overall CE market has dipped anywhere between 20-25 per cent. For concrete equipment, the dip is a bit steeper ; it is between 25-30 per cent. it is because of the combined effect of the slowing down of the economy and also the shift in focus from concrete road projects to asphalt road projects. Most of the latest projects announced in the recent past are bitumen projects, asphalting highways. But I am sure in another couple of years there will be more concrete road projects will be announced and that will further trigger the demand pull for concrete equipment.
What has been your focus on the lean period?
2019 witnessed a lull in projects resulting contraction of the market. But there will be good demand this year and we are sure of a boom. So it was very critical for us to gear up enhancing our service capabilities, creating a strong pool of skilled and certified operators and technicians to operate and maintain equipment. Our focus was also to widen our product portfolio and that's what you have seen during the 2019 EXCON where we showcased 19 products, out of which eight was newly launched. So we have highly augmented our capabilities.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]What kind of growth are you expecting in this year?
We expect 20-25 per cent growth compared to 2019. We are looking at organic and inorganic growth. As mentioned, we are on the expansion mode and you find some acquisitions in the near future for new product lines.
It is surprising that you have launched Slip form paver recently. Could you brief on that?
That was well on our agenda. AJAX slip form paver SPX1204 is the first indigenous paver designed and manufactured in India. This was launched by one of our esteemed customers, N. Bangaru Raju, Vice-President, NCC. The SPX1204 has incorporated high-quality components and features on par with any of the pavers offered by the global players. This paver has flexibility to offer paving width varying from 3.5 m to 12 m.
During EXCON 2019, we also launched the first of its kind and next-gen self-propelled boom pump, SPBP25ZX. This patent-pending product has been designed to handle tough terrain and manoeuvre narrow roads and job sites at ease, effectively uses its full boom length that will revolutionize the way concreting is being done in housing and infrastructure projects.
Why should a customer buy from AJAX?
AJAX has always strived to be a '360° concreting solutions provider' to its customers by delivering cost-optimized products with the state-of-the-art technology that delivers value and answers customers' stated and unstated needs. We have a strong focus on the capabilities needed to succeed in the constantly changing market dynamics, thanks to our technological innovation that has been able to meet up the challenges and continuously align with the fast-changing industry trends.
We have strategically aligned our product portfolio in designing and developing innovative solutions that will cater to concrete production, transportation, placing of concrete and paving for various infrastructure projects across the length & breadth of the country.
All over India we have a network of 100 dealers with triple S facilities - sales, service and spare parts. We add value to our customers, close to over 1800 satisfied customers. They have seen, realised and experienced the value we have brought in. And we will keep on adding value to our customers. [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]How do you look at the export market potential?
Our core competence is in manufacturing. We have a strong engineering team and at any point of time we will be having 3-4 new products on the design table. For us India is a strong manufacturing base, and we make in India and make it for the world. We will be very much focused in export market, we have already started with self loading concrete mixer, and soon we will be taking all our products to global market. We see very good potential from export.
How open is AJAX on the adoption of telematics and big data analytics in its manufacturing?
Most of our machines have IoT, and telematics based solutions. We are moving towards artificial intelligence and other advanced manufacturing concepts.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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