Demand is expected to remain buoyant in the near future
Elgi Equipments offers portable compressed air solutions for a wide range of applications. Ramesh Ponnuswami, Executive Director, Elgi Equipments shares more on the industry scenario and solutions offered by the company.

What are the applications of portable compressors in construction and mining industry? What is the capacity range involved?
Portable compressors are an important utility in key production processes in the construction and mining industry. The industry offers solutions in the range of 180-1000 cfm (volume of air)/ 100-300 psi (power capacity).

What are the compressed air power solutions from ELGi?
ELGi has portable compressed air solutions in the range of 300- 1,000 cfm/100-300 psi for applications such as road construction, limestone quarries, iron ore mining, coal mining, pigging, and solar panel installation. We offer a range that is comprehensive and meets the requirements of our customers.

Please brief us on engines and sub-systems used in the range that helps enhance various performance parameters.
Our product development approach has always been to improve fuel efficiency, increased power output, lower weight ratio, reduced emission, noise reduction, and increased life cycle at affordable costs. Life cycle cost is always at the forefront of the RoI discussions that we have at various stages of design and development.

What are the features inbuilt that can effectively counter extreme operating conditions?
Pre-cleaners are one of the components that get built into the compressor assembly. This helps in countering extreme dusty conditions. This is in addition to the overall products that are designed to operate in trying and extreme conditions.

What is the demand-supply scenario for compressors?
Demand has been consistently growing in the last two years and is expected to remain buoyant in the near future. The last 2-3 years has seen road construction, irrigation projects etc all picking up at rapid pace. This trend is likely to continue with the Central Government keen on continuing the momentum into the election year in 2019.

What do customers look for while choosing a compressor?
The parameters mentioned earlier, such as fuel efficiency, increased power output, lower weight ratio, noise reduction, and increased life cycle at affordable costs are the key buying factors of a customer.

How do you look at the market growth trend in the coming five years?
Infrastructure boom is likely to sustain well into the next decade, especially with thrust on tier-II and tier-III cities, and the all-important rural infrastructure development.

This will eventually spur core sector growth of which infrastructure is a key component.