We will focus on consolidating our range and devising strategies to increasing our distribution.
Amarnath Ramachandran
Managing Director, ARX Mining & Construction Equipment
How was the overall response at Excon 2023?
Excon is a festive event where the entire industry congregates and display all their best products and what they have to show. For us it was particularly important because we have a very large portfolio developed in a shorter timeframe of over the past three-and-a-half years. So, it was very important for us to display our products and make good impact on the large customers and key visitors. We received a very good footfall of a mix of big contractors, construction specialists, and mining companies. There is a huge amount of orders especially in the material handling portfolio. So, it has been absolutely successful for us and we were able to show everything what we developed over the years.
What are the breakthrough technologies showcased?
All our machines have been manufactured as per the requirements of the latest emission norms. We have also introduced the continuously variable transmission on our reach stacker in partnership with ZF which we are doing for the first time globally. This will bring about a 40% saving in the fuel consumption. Apart from this, the engine we have installed on this are all HVO ready, which means you can cut the particulate emission close to zero. We have also introduced variable fan drives on all the machines to cut down the power consumed for the heat exchangers as it will consume exactly what is required for the ambient temperature. All of these are designed for the extreme conditions, particularly when it is running at a lower temperature, the fan rpm slows down resulting in less power consumption.
On the graders, we have installed brake-by-wire technology where we have a radar which interfaces with the controller. If there is an obstacle on the site, it will start applying brake on the machine automatically so that it highly increases the safety on the site and you can reduce accidents which are common at Indian sites. So, brake-by-wire is the next step before we go to the automatic steering and the fully autonomous machines.
What are the sustainability features in your machines?
Our major focus is in coal mining and we are doing whatever best we can in terms of going for modern diesel engines. We also have planned out with Cummins to switch over to hydrogen fuel as and when it is ready.
What are the opportunities looking forward?
We will focus on consolidating our range and devising strategies to increasing our distribution. We will be gearing up to start for exports by 2025. We will also keep adding to our portfolio, will look at some acquisitions mainly for space. We need to expand very fast because the demand is very high now and we already have an orderbook full till next September. We are happy with our current performance, but we have to continue to strive hard in the coming years to grow further.
