REGAINING MOMENTUM

As India is gearing up to become a $5 trillion economy in the near future, infrastructure development activities are going to regain momentum where involvement of a large number of construction equipment and machineries will be visible in the coming years. Construction Times explores the market trends and outlook.

India is the third-largest construction equipment (CE) market globally, after China and the US. According to the Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers' Association (ICEMA), the Indian CE industry sells between 80,000-100,000 units per annum on an average. Construction equipment plays a major role in infrastructure development as more than 30 per cent of the project execution cost goes into equipment cost. The Government's enhanced focus towards creation of world-class infrastructure in the country has opened up a host of opportunities for the CE industry.

Current trends

After the Covid pandemic impacting the global as well as Indian economy in the past 2-3 year, coupled with recession in some leading global economies, there has been a slowdown visible in project execution. Especially in the roads and highways, the project execution has come down considerably. Dimitrov Krishnan, President, ICEMA, highlights, “One of the challenges which remained for the CE sector during FY22 was the slowdown in construction of roads and highways (from 36.5 km/day in FY21 to 28.64 km/day in FY22) which accounts for nearly 40% of construction demand. This has adversely impacted the demand for construction equipment.” However, going forward, the forecast for CE industry is positive, especially in view of the improved YoY results of Q1 and Q2 of FY22-23. “With over 35% increase in budget outlay on capital expenditure for FY23, the industry sentiments have received a boost on the back of enhanced export prospects as well as continued governmental thrust on infrastructure development,” adds Krishnan. 

There has been a direct correlation between infrastructure development and equipment sales in the past. Deepak Shetty, CEO & Managing Director, JCB India, says, “This year we witnessed a slow beginning in terms of equipment sales. This was due to a few reasons: the Russia-Ukraine conflict disrupted supply chains, and a steep increase in commodity prices led to lower demand in the year's first quarter. However, with the government's increased focus on the infrastructure sector, the cooling off of commodity and fuel prices, and the resumption of supply chains, we are seeing a steady rise in sales for construction equipment. Current trends indicate that the increase in the sale of machines with continue through the next year. It is predicted that the industry will see a growth of
15-20%.”

Opportunities

The National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) offers a huge opportunity for creating world class infrastructure in the country and a wide range of equipment are needed in the execution of these projects. Equipment and machinery such as earthmoving & mining, concrete, material handling, material processing and road construction are expected to see increased demand this year and ahead. Construction, earthmoving, material handling and mining equipment are vital for successful and timely completion of Government's mission critical infrastructure projects.

bauma CONEXPO INDIA to boost positive sentiments

Industry exhibitions are ideal platforms to witness and experience the new technologies and solutions coming up in the market in a touch-and-feel manner. Though the Covid pandemic had temporarily halted the physical format of exhibitions, the activities have restarted, creating new optimisim among the manufacturers and customers. Thus, the latest edition of bauma CONEXPO INDIA is going to be held from January 31 to February 3, 2023, after a gap of almost four years.

Bhupinder Singh, CEO, bauma CONEXPO INDIA, gives an overview of the exhibition. “The upcoming edition of bauma CONEXPO INDIA 2023 is bigger compared to our previous editions in terms of exhibitor participation and expected visitor footfalls. bauma CONEXPO INDIA will be held from 31 Jan to 3 Feb 2023 at the India Expo Centre. We are expecting participation from more than 600 exhibitors from 20+ countries, showcasing 10,000+ products and solutions, and drawing more than 50,000 visitors during the four-day event.”

This edition of bauma CONEXPO INDIA will have a special focus on machinery innovations for the mining sector, especially pertaining to energy efficiency and safety measures. The show will also focus on skill-building initiatives to create quality jobs in the construction equipment space.

On the further services offered by the exhibition, Singh elaborates, “We are offering an exclusive experience to our visitors through live product demos, 20+ knowledge-rich conferences, and business-to-government sessions. bauma CONEXPO INDIA is a vibrant meeting place for exhibitors and visitors. On this front, we are executing 5000+ buyer-seller meetings that would enable meaningful handshakes and unlock business opportunities. This edition of bauma CONEXPO INDIA will have a special focus on machinery innovations for the mining sector, especially pertaining to energy efficiency and safety measures. The show will also focus on skill-building initiatives to create quality jobs in the construction equipment space.”

All the exhibitors are excited to be part of the 6th international trade fair for construction machinery, building material machines, mining machines and construction vehicles to be held at the India Expo Centre, Greater Noida. Arvind K Garg, Senior Vice President & Head - Construction & Mining Machinery Business, Larsen & Toubro, says, “The industry is eager to participate wholeheartedly and will put its best foot forward for the event's success. L&T will display many unique solutions to customers at bauma CONEXPO INDIA 2023. We are looking forward to active participation in engaging with our valued customers. The next few years will hold tremendous potential for the CE Industry, and we expect participation. bauma CONEXPO has earned credibility in the industry over the previous editions, and we look forward to the upcoming edition in January 2023 at Greater Noida.”

According to V G Sakthikumar, Managing Director, SCHWING Stetter India, the company will be launching 14 new products in the bC India show along with other regular products such as batching plants, concrete pumps, recycling plants, TSRs, self-loading mixers, wheel loaders, excavators, piling rigs, truck cranes, horizontal directional drilling machines, etc. “We have always been a vivid supporter of bC India since its debut in India. We look at it as a platform for us to bond with our customers in the north and eastern region. We are looking forward to this edition as a big event after four years, to connect with our customers and to showcase our latest range of products,” he adds.

BKR Prasad, Head - Marketing & Product Development, Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Company, talks about the company's plans at the exhibition, “This year, bauma CONEXPO INDIA is happening with the theme ‘The future of nation building' and we are very keen to showcase our readiness in building the India of tomorrow. We will be displaying our versatile, CEV IV-compliant backhoe loader model Shinrai Prime, our newly launched, indigenously developed, NextGen 3 ton mini excavator model NX30 along with some of our mid-range construction excavators. Also, on display will be parts, attachments, and solutions offered by us.”

CE market outlook

The demand for construction equipment is on the uptrend in the current financial year. According to Shetty, India's infrastructure development for the next decade is lined with huge projects and government schemes. Dheeraj Panda, Chief Operating Officer (Sales, Marketing & Customer Support), Sany Heavy Industry India, says, “The good times that we have seen in 2022 in terms of positive market dynamics, increased sales and government support will continue to gain pace in 2023 as well.”

 “The CE industry's outlook for 2023 is positive. There has been an upward trend in demand observed during 2022 which is likely to be continued during this year as well with many of the planned infrastructure projects expected to be implemented in 2023,” concludes Krishnan on a positive note.

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