India is witnessing rapid urbanization and so is the crushing & screening industry.

- Amol Sinha

General Manager, Product Support & Training, Terex India

Aggregates are essential in every construction project. What do you think is the present market dynamics/ demand drivers for the crushing and screening units?

The production of aggregates & M-sand is in upward direction due to investments in infrastructure projects & we expect this to continue in the coming years and this in turn is driving demand for capital equipment like Crushers & Screeners. There is shift in demand towards modular crushing solutions to augment capacity, customisation to improve plant efficiency. We are also serving the rising demand for mobile crushing and screening equipment, including electric hybrid track crushers for highway segment. Opening up of Iron Ore mining is another driver for mobile screening plants Terex is proud to be offering a wide range of equipment from Modular Autosand® cone crushers for sand manufacturing to Terex washing equipment for sand classification to Mobile crushers & more, thus fulfilling customer needs.

Additionally, there is a need for more rugged and smaller plants for use in the hilly regions, and in view of this, we will be soon launching our smaller range of crushing machines such as jaw crushers and impact crushers this year. These machines will be of 60, 70 and 80 ton/hour capacity, and can be transported on a small truck or trailer. They are being developed to cater to projects in the North-East and Himalayan regions as well for C&D crushing close to cities.

India is emerging as a top manufacturing hub in the world and our equipment manufactured at Hosur facility have the same quality standard as any other Terex factory.

Have you introduced any new features/ designs or latest technological upgrades that can enhance the utility of the crushing and screening systems?

We recently launched Powerscreen Pulse™, an award-winning telematics solution across our Powerscreen range of crushing and screening equipment produced at our manufacturing facility in Hosur, India. Using Powerscreen Pulse, our customers gain deeper insights into how their machines and entire fleets are performing through dynamic, intuitive dashboards, filters and custom reports on the health and productivity of their equipment. No matter where Powerscreen customers are in the world, they can stay on top of production by accessing this accurate up-to-date information from their PC, tablet or smartphone.Key pieces of data that Powerscreen Pulse provides include cost analyses of fuel/throughput (i.e. cost per tonne), tonnages, maintenance status, monitoring of the machine operation (i.e. identify any misuse or abuse), utilisation trends and comparison, and machine location, which is particularly for rental fleets.

As crushing equipment operates in challenging and often remote work environments, telematics enables equipment owners to stay connected and keep track of their equipment. This pro-active use of Powerscreen Pulse provides the ability for the Terex India team to communicate and collaborate with our distributors and customers, using the transparency of the machine data to; see how and where their machines are being operated, carry out fault-finding activities to ensure optimised performance/mitigate downtime, drive operational improvement, reduce idle time, and understand fuel consumption to drive a more fuel-efficient operation.

How do you look at the opportunities / future market / your target avenues for crushing and screening units?

India is witnessing rapid urbanization and so is the crushing & screening industry, fueling demand for faster construction which is a major driver for customers to move towards mobility. Terex is one of the first organisations to manufacture mobile plants in India that are best suited to meet the requirements of larger projects for completion in a relatively shorter period.

We are seeing a surge in demand for the manufactured sand (M-sand) with many states in India banning illegal river sand mining. The M-sand derived from crushed rock fines is a sustainable and viable alternative for construction needs and can also be manufactured in the vicinity of quarry sites, thus reducing transport cost and ensuring timely project completions.

The coal sector is set to grow rapidly for the next few years, so while we already have a range of equipment which customers are currently using in their coal mines, we are simultaneously preparing to launch new products that further meets the demands of this sector.

Customers are cost-sensitive but they are willing to pay for features which bring efficiency in costs and quality. Our Hybrid technology and Telematics are the perfect examples for this. In our kind of machinery, we don't see rental or leasing but we are seeing purchase by sub-contractors but we are not seeing rental or leasing.

Terex India has been self-reliant ever since it began its operations in India. Localisation has been a major initiative for us. Majority of the machines are manufactured in our world class manufacturing facility at Hosur in Tamil Nadu.

We are working on various new product development projects for the Indian and regional markets, with  multiple new models in the pipeline across crushing, screening, washing, lifting, conveying, and recycling applications. We are bullish on the long-term market opportunities for crushers and screens considering the Government's National Infrastructure Pipeline plan, policy reforms in mining, Recycling of C&D Waste, Biomining under Swachh Bharat Mission.

We have invested in a service field force through our dealers, as well as at our end. The idea again is to ensure that all machines operate safely and with minimum downtime. These are some key points, apart from a well-designed, rugged, reliable product that differentiates us in the market.

What are the major challenges in today's context in the crushing and screening market? 

We have seen both ups and downs as far as India's Crushing & Screening Industry is concerned. The Covid-19 pandemic created significant challenges, but we are starting to see strong revival this year. The long-term growth opportunities for the CE industry remain positive. While most of the demand for construction equipment is expected to come from the Infra sector, the mining sector would also raise a lot of demand for machines.

A slew of Government announcements is also helping the CE industry get back its growth momentum, such as the numerous new road projects announced. According to a recent report published by Allied Market Research, the mobile crushing and screening market is anticipated to reach $2,550 million by 2022, due to increased construction and mining activities in the emerging countries, such as India.

Hits: 79