We have reduced our carbon footprint in manufacturing by 45% in the last five years

- Sandeep Singh

Managing Director, Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Company

The government has put the country's infrastructure development on fast track with the mega plans introduced under the National Infrastructure Pipeline program. How do you view these developments in creating a strong nation?

There are two parts to this now, one being the investments planned under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) program and the other is the National Gati Shakti Plan for improved logistics efficiency as well as holistic planning for development.

Though the NIP was envisaged to have projects with an investment of Rs 111 lakh crores, as of date, nearly Rs 143 lakh crores of projects are part of it with Rs 113 lakh crores worth of projects under implementation. Therefore, the investments are going in the right direction. Transport infrastructure garners a large chunk of these investments followed by energy and sanitation.

These plans are being implemented with a long-term vision and are being driven through the Gati Shakti platform which is a unique platform with multiple layers of information uploaded by various stakeholders that allow seamless planning and participation in real-time to implement projects. In any country, a developed infrastructure boosts the economy making the country stronger. Both the NIP and Gati Shakti plans are in the right direction.

How are your innovative products and solutions helping in the ongoing infrastructure developments in the country?

Tata Hitachi machines aim at higher productivity and lower fuel consumption to help achieve more for less. With a wide range of products and attachments, we are a leader in providing construction and mining equipment solutions across sectors such as road construction, mining (metals and coal), urban and rural infrastructure developments, ports, river connectivity, airports development, and several other sectors.

Tata Hitachi provides customized solutions and innovative attachments to address several infrastructure-related challenges. Some of the innovative solutions provided include rail puller excavator, super long front for well digging, material handling for car crushing/disposal plant, tunnel excavation, amphibious excavator, material handler for port and barge application, magnet for metal scrap handling, excavator for salt application, remote sewage treatment, etc.

What is the scenario in mining and what will drive the growth in the future?

The country is blessed with immense mineral resources that aid in its development. Some of the important mineral resources are coal, iron ore, chromium, limestone, and bauxite.

We have one of the largest cement industries in the world that has been able to systematically extract limestone over the past several decades. Limestone and hence cement is a building block in the development of infrastructure as well as real estate construction and housing. Similarly, the country is bestowed with a large deposit of iron ore which our companies have been able to utilize in converting to iron and steel driving the development of the country. In 75 years of our independence, the country's steelmaking capacity has gone up from 1MT in 1947 to 150+ MT in 2021 contributing to the growth of the economy. The country is aiming to produce 250 MT by 2030 and availability of iron ore is going to play an important role in achieving this aim. Similarly, we have the 5th largest coal reserves in the world, and we are the 3rd largest producer. Recent developments thrust focus on the issue of energy security of the country and coal will play an important role in achieving this. In this direction, Coal India has a target to achieve one billion ton of coal production by the year 2024-25. With a total of 46 coal mines auctioned for commercial mining and many MDOs being executed by Coal India, the private sector is going to play an important role in coal production. This will enable scientific and systematic extraction of coal in an economical and environment-friendly way with the use of large-class modern mining equipment. Hence, mining of mineral resources is very important and the above measures will aid in the development and growth of the mining industry in the future.

How does sustainability play a key role in your products and operations?

Sustainability is at the core of Tata Hitachi's business model. We promote environmentally sustainable products and services.

Tata Hitachi machines come with lead and chrome-free paints and are highly fuel efficient. While we are working towards the BS4 environmental norms for our excavators, we have already complied with that in our wheeled products. We carry out environmentally conscious design assessments for each of our products and modify the design accordingly to meet regulations and requirements. Additionally, we also do product life cycle assessment which leads to eco-friendly design and reduces the overall carbon footprint of our products and services.

On the operations side, Tata Hitachi takes aggressive carbon footprint reduction targets each year and works towards that. We have reduced our carbon footprint in manufacturing by 45% in the last five years. Some of the initiatives taken by us are:

• Switching to the use of renewable energy (solar power) which contributes to 90% power requirement at the Dharwad plant and 70% at the Kharagpur plant.
• Green buildings at both plants
• Improve painting efficiency to reduce paint emissions
• Water consumption reduction through reuse by putting up effluent treatment, sewage treatment plants, and ensuring zero discharge from our plants.
• Rainwater harvesting and biodiversity zones in our plants

What is your current manufacturing capacity in India? What are your plans to scale up production in the future?

Our present monthly production capacity is around 1,000 machines per month. We have plans to scale up our production capacity in the future as per market requirements as we have enough space available in our plants for any required future capacity expansion.

What are the opportunities for Tata Hitachi in the upcoming market scenario?

Among the opportunities from NIP, roads and water supply have the highest intensity of use of construction equipment among major demand drivers.

Further, the proportion of greenfield multilane highways is increasing and the PM GatiShakti Master Plan for Expressway is being formulated. The huge backlog in construction has led to extending the target to complete Bharatmala by FY27, which will enable execution in the coming months and years. An announcement of the start of the Ken-Betwa river-linking project has also been made.   

Jal Jeevan Mission targets 2024 to provide piped drinking water to households in rural areas.

Railways will need an investment of nearly US$740 billion by 2030, where more than half of the investment to be used in the construction or upgradation of lines.

All this should enable good growth in construction equipment used in these applications.

Hits: 0