Text & Photos: Bhargav TS
The 8th edition of the International Construction Equipment and Construction Technology Trade Fair – EXCON 2015 organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) saw an overwhelming response from the industry. With the theme of ‘Make in India – Building Infrastructure, Building the Nation’, the event housed around 810 exhibitors including 270 overseas companies. The current edition was spread across 22000 sq.m and witnessed over 200 product launches. The 5-day event had country pavilions from Germany, Italy, China, Korea, Turkey and United Kingdom.
EXCON 2015
After inaugurating the fair, Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, said that infrastructure development is highly essential for the progress of the country and the need of the hour was quality construction, good equipment and a good approach. He urged the industry to explore the possibility of using bio-diesel or ethanol in construction machinery as it would aid in reducing pollution and also be in sync with government’s vision of a clean India that is free from pollution.
He also stressed the industry to think about creating skilled manpower, as this was one of the shortcomings of the industry stating the example that the country was facing a 22% shortage of drivers. “We are planning to increase the national highway road length from the current 96,000 kilometers to 150,000 kilometers. We are also planning an express highway between Delhi and Srinagar, which will reduce travel time to just 6 hours. The government is also planning an express highway between Mumbai and Nagpur. Going forward my Ministry is exploring the usage of waste material such as oil sludge in the construction of roads, making it more environment friendly.”
Gadkari also touched upon the Shipping Industry saying that India had 12 major ports and announced that the government was planning new ports including Kolachel in Tamil Nadu, Kandla in Gujarat and Sagar in West Bengal. These ports would aid in movement of goods and services at a cheaper option than the highways. He also mentioned that there was a plan to convert 111 rivers into inland waterways. He said that his ministry’s target was to add 2% to the country’s GDP in 2 years and to add 50 lakh jobs over the next 5 years.
Sumit Mazumder, President, CII, said the industrial growth is on steady upward trajectory led by higher growth in the manufacturing sector. India would continue to offer huge markets due to its infrastructure and real estate sectors. Railways road and highways power ports and airports offer big investment potential.
While delivering the theme address Vipin Sondhi, Chairman, EXCON 2015 and MD & CEO JCB India, said that the industry witnessed a difficult 36 months but there has been some stability right now. Infrastructure growth is an absolute critical enabler and probably the biggest multiplier for sustained economic growth and very importantly job creation as well.
Anand Sundaresan, President, ICEMA complemented the Government of India on the significant growth witnessed in the road sector. Industry production was higher than expected. However the construction industry went through a decline. EXCON has contributed to the adoption of latest machinery and technology in the construction industry in India. ICEMA will continue to work closely with ministry of road transport and highways and extend its full support to ensure world class technology and equipment for building world class national highways.
EXCON 2015 witnessed a large presence of SMEs in the component and aggregate manufacturing, showcasing India’s potential as a preferred outsourcing destination for construction equipment manufacturing.
Sealing solutions provider Trelleborg Sealing launched Glyd Ring D: Cool Under Pressure. The newly launched product gives the perfect combination of sealing performance and service life, through optimised contact pressure and minimised heat generated from friction.To achieve this, adequate friction is ensured with an innovative design that incorporates two special grooves in the D-shaped profile of the seal to sustain an oil film for sufficient lubrication of the seal against its counter surface.
The new Zurcon Glyd Ring D is manufactured from Zurcon Z13 polyurethane material, which has been specially developed to cope with pressures up to 500 bar/ 7,250 psi at both sides of the seal and at temperatures up to +120 °C / +248 °F. The seal therefore gives long life, even under demanding conditions. Offering superb mechanical and elastic properties, the seal loses none of its resilience and can be used in cylinders with lower quality inner walls.
Swedish truck maker Volvo Trucks launched 2 new large capacity 5 axle dump trucks ‘FMX 520’ 10×4 dump truck with 26.1 Cu.m body and ‘FMX 480’ 10×4 dump truck with 24 Cu.m body for various mining applications in India. The trucks are powered by a 13-litre Euro 3 engine that produces 480 hp and 520 hp. Both the trucks are equipped with Dynafleet telematics system allowing drivers to enhance fuel saving capacities resulting in better efficiency in a cost effective way.
Pierre Jean Verge Salamon, President Volvo Group Trucks India said, “We are very positive about Indian growth story and optimistic about the government’s plans to double the coal production to 1 billion tonnes by 2020. We believe that the next 5 years will open up several new opportunities in the coal mining which will redefine productivity and efficiency demands. Anticipating a paradigm change in the mining industry, Volvo has invested significantly in bringing in these new products that are ready to take on the future demands of coal mining.”
India’s leading construction equipment manufacturer JCB India showcased 25 “Made in India” machines along with its technology innovations at the EXCON. Apart from new variants of its existing machines, JCB showcased the new “ecoXcellence” range of backhoe loaders. Also displayed the JCB 220LC Xtra Tracked Excavator – a new entrant from JCB India in the 22 tonne market, 455 ZX wheeled loader in the 5 tonne segment and the new master loader.
Tata Motors showcased 4 new construction and mining commercial vehicles, from its Construck range during the 5 day event. The new vehicles showcased are the Tata Prima 3138.K 32 CuM Coal Tipper, Tata Prima LX 2523 K RePTO, Tata Prima LX 3128.K 19 CuM Scoop HRT and Tata SAK 1613. Amidst the new launches, Tata Motors also showcased 4 other construction and mining tippers from its ConsTruck range, Tata LPK 2518 10 CuM, Tata LPTK 2518 6X2, Tata Prima 3138.K AT and Tata Prima LX 3123.K 22 CuM Box.
The Tata Construck range consists of tippers, transit mixers, truck mounted Cranes and concrete boom pumps, engineered to address tough conditions and endure heavy duty cycles of the construction and mining industry, with higher productivity and profitability.
Rajesh Kaul, Business Head, Intermediate, Medium & Heavy Trucks, Tata Motors said, “All the vehicles on display here from the Tata Motors Construck range, are based on extensive customer feedback, built with world-class manufacturing standards, with their designs and aggregates tested to withstand some of the toughest working conditions. Designed to offer maximum vehicle uptime and lowest TCO, we will shortly introduce all 4 of our new vehicles in the market, backed by Tata Motors extensive sales and service network across the country.”
VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) strengthened its presence in the mining and construction sector through an expansion of its product portfolio and showcasing a series of tippers in the Pro 6000 and 8000 category. These include the launch of Pro 8031XM 8×4 tipper with 330 HP with rock body and box body options for mining and Pro 6025T 6×4 box body with 220 HP and RMC with 210 HP for construction sectors. With these, Eicher is now fully equipped to address 2 critical segments of mining and construction.
Vinod Aggarwal, CEO, VECV said, “The worst recession for the commercial vehicle industry is behind us now. As we move forward, a lot more growth is expected to come from mining and construction. Already, the coal mining industry is showing handsome growth and a number of infrastructure projects are kicked off, therefore the construction equipment sector is likely to show growth in the next 2-3 years.”
Premium commercial vehicles and engines maker Scania showcased its premium mining tippers, the P 410 (8×4) coal body and P 410 (8×4) SSAB rock body.Scania also showcased its special aftermarket customer support applications and services like Fleet Management Service (FMS), Scania lubricants and other genuine parts. Anders Grundströmer, Managing Director, Scania India and Senior Vice President, Scania Group said, “Scania is bullish on the Indian market, especially the mining sector, and we are confident of growing further in the coming year. We have consistently delivered best-in-class products embedded with the most advanced safety features, comfort and quality, helping customers achieve increased operational efficiencies. Our products are designed to withstand the toughest and most demanding mining conditions. The Scania P 410 tippers are the most sought after products by leading mining companies in India.”
Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) with its exclusive brand BharatBenz debuted at the EXCON 2015 for the first time. BharatBenz displayed 11 trucks from its construction and mining range of products including India’s first indigenised mining truck 3143 making an indelible mark at its first public fair in the country. The BharatBenz 3143 comes with the OM 457 Mercedes-Benz engine, with a 12 litre capacity and six-cylinders delivering 430hp. The BharatBenz 3143 is available in two variants 19.5Cu.M rock body and 32Cu.M coal carrier.
Erich Nesselhauf, Managing Director and CEO of DICV said, “With top quality products from our world class factory in Oragadam, we have not only made a mark with our Indian and International customers, but also convinced other Daimler brands and entities to source parts from us and our supplier network.
Apart from attracting domestic equipment makers, EXCON 2015 has also pulled participation from 22 countries. Large number of exhibitors from Germany, China, Italy, Turkey, South Korea, United Kingdom and other countries used the platform not only to exhibit their state-of-the art construction equipment but also to exchange information and ideas with regard to technology and expansion of their businesses.
Sang-Dok Yim, Marketing Support, Department/Strategy Division of Korea Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association (KOCEMA) opined that it was the opportune time for companies to invest in India as it was an emerging market. Establishing his confidence in EXCON 2015, Yim said, “You can expect more Korean companies to invest in India in the coming years”. This confidence was echoed by SPECO, a South Korean company dealing in asphalt mixing plant and batch master, which has been participating in EXCON since its first edition in 2000.
The ‘Make in India’ initiative too has received a lot of appreciation from international participants with Chinese company Luoyang Longda Bearing Co., contemplates to open up an office in Kolkata by next year. Zhou Weidong, Vice President and Senior Engineer, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) representing China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC) and Machinery Chamber of Commerce said that Chinese companies were seriously looking at collaborating with Indian companies in the construction equipment industry. They also expressed interest in maintenance of roads. Li Yunsheng, Senior Engineer of China Construction Machinery Association (CCMA) and Du Song, of CCPIT said that with its fast growing economy and a promising construction equipment industry, India shows that it is a very important market for countries like China and offers several opportunities especially in the infrastructure and construction equipment industries. China is the biggest foreign exhibitor with participation of 172 Chinese companies.
Germany too sees huge prospects in participating in India’s exciting infrastructure growth story. Sebastian Popp, Deputy Managing Director, Construction Equipment and Building Material Machinery (VDMA) said that visibility of India and the Indian economy has increased phenomenally over the past few years and the country’s future potential is being played out to prospective investors with aplomb. The investment climate in the country is continuously improving and in the construction equipment space alone companies are already active in India. He said that the potential for more German companies to come into India was high. A total of 31 companies from Germany participated in the event. ACI
