According to industry experts, the crushing and screening equipment market is believed to grow at the rate of 13 per cent per annum during 2023-27. As the need for artificial sand is growing at a faster pace, the importance of crushing and screening machinery is becoming prominent, day by day. Followed by a prolonged spell of business slump in the last few years, crushing and screening plant manufacturers are seeing a gradual, although modest take in demand for plants. There are huge untapped opportunities in the crushers and screens market. Recently, the government extended its Rs 111 lakh crore ($1.5 trillion) National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) to cover more projects by 2025. NIP has now been expanded, which means there will be more demand for crushers and screens.

Also recently, the Punjab Government approved the Punjab Crusher Policy 2023, allowing consumers to obtain sand and gravel at reasonable prices. Commercial crusher units (CCU) and public crusher units (PCU) are the two primary classifications of crusher units under the policy. It states that crushing units will also include screening, washing, and chopping plants.

Construction aggregates can be classified as crushed stone, quarry dust, boulder, and gravel and manufactured sand (M-sand). Aggregates are used for multiple applications like raw materials for site mix and ready-mix concrete, sub-base for road projects, railway ballast etc., and are available in various sizes from 6 mm to 60 mm. The crushed stone aggregates used for concrete preparation vary from 1,000-1,200 million tonnes. The rest is used directly for infrastructure, road and railway projects as aggregate.

Said Piero Guizetti, CEO, MB Crusher, “The Indian crushing and screening equipment market is experiencing a revival driven by a focus on customisation, quality, and services. With infrastructure projects and road construction gaining momentum, manufacturers are anticipating a 15 per cent year-on-year demand growth for new crushing and screening equipment. Efficiency, quick setup, and equipment mobility are in the spotlight. Excitingly, lifecycle service agreements are transforming maintenance. Plus, tailored pre- and after-sales services are taking the centrestage. At MB, we're ahead of the curve, offering easy-to-install, mobile and optimised crusher and screening buckets. Our dedicated service team ensures exceptional after-sales support.”

Terex is one of the market leaders in crushing, screening, washing and conveying solutions for aggregates used in various infrastructure projects across India. Said Jaideep Shekhar, Managing Director – Asia, Australia & EMEAR, Terex India, “For the last 20 years, we have had a solid market presence with tracked mobile crushing and screening equipment catering to the mining and highway sector, including National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) projects, while our wide range of aggregate washing equipment supports many urban development and irrigation projects. We are now focusing on sustainable infrastructure development, with our aggregate washing product range producing manufactured sand and our recycling systems being used to process Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste.”

He added, “We will also be launching a smaller range of crushing machines such as jaw crushers and impact crushers under our EvoQuip brand, in the 60 to 80 tonne/hour capacity, which can be transported on a small truck or trailer. These machines are being developed to cater to projects in the North-East and Himalayan regions as well C&D crushing very close to cities. Our aim is to offer an entire range of machines in various capacities from small, and mid to high, which will be made in India to cater to the road and mining sectors.”

Said V Senthilkumar, Managing Director, Propel Industries, “India is one of the largest aggregates markets in the world. It is growing very fast and structural changes are happening too. The government’s thrust on expanding road and rail network is igniting the market growth. I estimate the aggregate market to be around 3.4 billion tonne.”

He added, “Production of high-quality manufactured sand (M-sand) by the plant owners is leading to greater demand and optimisation of plants in the aggregates business. The scenario is governed by a demand and supply cycle. The restrictions on using the river sand are making the customers turn to M-sand. The road construction sector, core construction and real estate sectors play a major role in driving the market. More than 50 per cent of the demand comes from these sectors. The emphasis on creating sustainable projects is on the rise and so, I am sure the demand for quality M-sand meeting specific requirements will also rise. M-sand is produced with the desired particle shape, gradation and silt content with the absence of deleterious materials, by crushing and washing.”

“It is vital to remember that the usage of cement in projects will be reduced by 5 to 6 per cent. While producers promise to supply M-sand to job sites as per the specifications, plant manufacturers are roping in technology to bring in advancements into their sand-producing equipment,” said Senthilkumar.

Currently, there is a growing emphasis and investment in infrastructure development by the government, which in turn is giving the much-needed push to the construction sector, says T Chandrasekhar, Director-Technical, Aparna Enterprises. “On the demand side, it’s not just the growth momentum that the Indian equipment sector is witnessing, but also a positive approach among buyers who are increasingly more receptive to innovative equipment, machinery, and solutions, being offered by manufacturers,” says Guizzetti.

“The booming infrastructure of the country has created a huge demand for stone aggregates and natural sand, as the same is a rudimentary element in the production of concrete which is used for most infrastructure projects,” comments Chandrasekhar. Apart from the infrastructure, he has observed that real estate sector is also a leading consumer of metal aggregates. In affirmation with the government’s decision to provide funds for stalled real estate projects and help revive the construction activity in the sector, he says that this will also help in pushing the demand for metal aggregates.

“Propel Industries is known for incorporating latest technology to constantly upgrade our products, which in turn benefits our customers. The pandemic has only strengthened our resolve to turn to technological means for our operations too. The market growth of crushers and screens is because of the incorporation of technology and its increased usage. Automation in the mining and construction industry is also a key factor in propelling the industry growth. Track plants operated with electric power rather than by hydraulic means is the latest trend,” says V Senthilkumar.

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 and more, thus fulfilling customer needs. Terex products are designed to be highly productive, efficient, reliable and easily transported from one place to another. The fine aggregates produced from Terex machines are of superior quality, helping customers to reduce the overall cost of their infrastructure projects.

German major Wirtgen has a major presence in India with its Kleeman integrated range of CSE machines. Kleemann crushing plants have several innovations like the CFS - Continuous crusher feed system, diesel-electric drive, crusher de-blocking system etc. Kleeman’s range comprises six jaw crusher models of various sizes, a variety of impact crushers of different sizes, as well as cone crushers and screening plants. They have a broad performance range extending from 100 tph to 1000 tph. The delivery range includes tracked mobile plants suitable for low-loader transport, with 150 different customer-specific plant configurations. The entire product portfolio is a closed aggregates material manufacturing cycle.

thyssenkrupp is another German major that offers a wide range of CSE products. Its crushers are specially designed for different types of materials – from soft coal to very hard iron ore. Each type of crusher is available in various sizes, the selection being based on the requirement of particular capacity, feed and crushed product size. They can be offered for both stationary and mobile applications. These include: roll crushers, hammer crushers, impact crushers.

Sandvik from Sweden is also a major player in the CSE space in India. Its product line of CSE provides advanced, proven solutions for any size-reduction and classification challenges. Their application expertise covers greenfield, expansion, and individual or multi-equipment replacement projects. Sandvik screens for scalping and classifying minerals and coal come in a wide range of sizes and in several types – both individual units and complete systems. Their wide range of feeders for crushers and other applications include robust, impact-resistant grizzly feeders, reciprocating plate feeders, and pan, belt, and apron feeders to swiftly and economically transfer material.

Voltas M&CE division is the distributor for Terex Power Screen crushers and screen in India. One of the highlights of the Terex Power Screen range is the Horizon range of horizontal screens (H Screen) ideal for handling high volumes of sticky materials and for the exact, fine sizing demanded in many construction contracts. This H range is ideally suited to applications such as natural and crushed aggregate, coal, iron ore, recycled concrete and asphalt. Power Screen crushers and screens range from Warrior 600 mobile screen to some of the largest mobile crushing plants – the Premiertrak 600 jaw crusher, 1500 Maxtrak cone crusher, and Trakpactor 550SR, which operate in diverse applications.

High productivity is associated with high output and minimal waste, according to Manesh Thomas, Managing Director, Modern Road Products. “Using the right combo is especially vital when you need to crush very hard materials, a very tough job for any machine.”

Modern Road Products’ standard set includes equipment from Astec’s Telsmith range, a cone crusher model 38 SBS, VSI 2500, four vibro-screens and two high-frequency screens for the production of shaped and graded aggregates. Astec’s fixed shaft cones technology distributes the crushing loads very well when encountering very hard aggregates or as per production requirements, explains Thomas. “These well-designed cones deliver better productivity and shape. Also, the Astec crusher comes with a combination of cones designed to suit different applications and materials. We can take on complex, varied production by simply changing the cone without making any modifications to the crusher. Vibro-screens from Astec offer exceptional vibration being designed with fully eccentric shafts.”

Certain features of a crusher are amenable to boosting operational productivity and reducing operation cost per tonne. Among these, Kiran Jain, Director, Shri Dakshayani M Sand, and Vice President, Karnataka Quarry and Crusher Owners Association, counts the motor size and the number of ports in the rotor design.

“Evaluate vertical shaft impactors (VSIs) for their motor size as well as their capacity as one with a smaller motor consumes less power per hour and thus boosts productivity,” urges Jain. “We prefer Proman’s VSI for this reason; it helps save 10-15 per cent of our power cost.”

A VSI with more ports in the rotor design delivers more output, adds Jain. “Proman’s VSI rotor design has five ports as opposed to many machines with just four ports.”

Thomas suggests using a VSI based on a hybrid system and on an accelerator system for great productivity and lower operating costs. He uses Astec’s 2500 VSI.

Plants that are used to produce both sand as well as aggregate must deliver the desired quantities of each to meet the desired productivity level. “At Mathrani Infra, a Puzzolana 200 TPH three-stage crusher is producing 45-50 per cent high-quality manufactured sand and aggregates, delivering over 1,600 tonne output in a single shift,” says Jitendra Mathrani, Director, Mathrani Mining Infrastructure. “The low power consumption makes the plant an economical, value-for-money machine.”

At Sai Srinivasa Laxmi Stone Crushers, a 2009 model Puzzolana 200 TPH three-stage crushing plant continues to work (at Karimnagar, Telangana) without any loss of productivity.

“Productivity implies that the machines are working fine without any shake and without even 1-mm variance,” explains Ravindra Rao, Director, Sai Srinivasa Laxmi Stone Crushers. “Our production is comparable with the industry average. The low cost of Puzzolana spares helps ensure our productivity and profitability. We have crushed upwards of 1.9 million tonne without any major replacements.”

“While we have been using Terex Powerscreen models sold and serviced by Universal MEP Engineering & Services (Voltas), a Tata Enterprise, for two decades, what has helped us in recent years is the fact that the models have been upgraded with a telematics system, Powerscreen Pulse,” says Vedvyas Bandihal, Senior General Manager, P&M, DRN Infrastructure. 

At DRN Infrastructure, each of the three-track mobile crushing and screening plants yields 200 tonne per hour of the end product that meets the specifications set out for the granular sub base, wet-mix macadam, aggregates, crushed sand and so on for national highway, state highway and rural road projects. The train comprises a primary jaw crusher, Terex Powerscreen model Premiertrack 400, a secondary cone crusher, Maxtrak 1000, and a track screen Chieftain 1700 3 deck.

“Powerscreen Pulse helps track the current location of the plants, crushing time, engine hours’ run, idle hours and wearing components.” continues Bandihal. “We estimate that close monitoring helps boost project and site productivity by about 15 per cent. Telematics is the need of the hour, something we expect from a responsible, updated OEM to help road construction companies deliver projects on time.”

India's government has been focusing on infrastructure development, including highways, railways, airports, and smart cities. This continued emphasis on infrastructure is expected to drive the demand for crushing and screening equipment, as these machines are essential for construction and road-building projects. India's rapid urbanization is creating a need for residential and commercial spaces, leading to increased construction activities. Crushing and screening equipment are crucial for processing raw materials such as stone, sand, and gravel, which are used in construction, making them indispensable in urban development.

Advancements in crushing and screening technology, such as mobile crushers and screens, automation, and remote monitoring, are likely to gain traction in the Indian market. These innovations can improve efficiency, reduce operating costs, and enhance safety.