We offer products which can work in all applications because of our heavy-duty designs incorporated in the entire range, lowest operating cost per tonne, best up-time of machines and best longevity, says S Manjunath, General Manager Sales, Doosan Infracore India. Excerpts of the interview.

What is the percentage of FTBs graduating to the excavator of say, up to 14T?
Close to 30 per cent of the first-time buyers gradually shift from backhoes to excavators up to the 14-tonne segment; the shift to the 20-tonne class is somewhere around 15 per cent.

Is unavailability of finance an issue?
Yes. Financiers have become very cautious in funding FTBs due high delinquencies and poor AR from existing accounts. So there is an issue of lack of financing options today.

Does it mean the retail segment gets impacted due to lack of finance? Is unavailability of finance an issue?
Yes, that?s true.Thegrowth in the retail segment will be phenomenal provided there is certainty in their earnings and it is backed up by financiers ready to fund loans for excavators and hauling equipment. Enough projects on hand are also very important, and this is not the case today.

What policy measures would you expect, to create such a pool of projects?
From our point of view, a stable government is a must, which can help come out with clear-cut policies to sort out the various issues in BOT projects. There should be ample focus on river linking projects, there is an urgent need to revitalise the road sector with adequate focus on national highways, state highways and rural road projects; mining needs to be re-opened with proper checks and balances; the government needs to remove bottlenecks in sand and blue metal quarrying. These initiatives will definitely bring the required momentum back to the industry.

Brief us on the range of excavators offered by Doosan.
Doosan offers a wide range of excavators starting from 8T to 15T; 20T to 22.5T, and 30T, 35T, 50T and 70T class. We offer products which can work in all applications because of the heavy-duty designs incorporated in our entire range and lowest operating cost per tonne due to economical parts pricing, best-up time of machines and best longevity.

What are the value additions offered by Doosan on the product and service front?
Doosan offers excavators with lowest cost per cubic feet of productivity with top class reliability and longevity on the product front. We have special offers like fleet management, AMCs as well as FMCs (Full Maintenance Contracts).

What is the current overall demand-supply scenario for excavators?
The overall size of excavators is down by 30 per cent due to reasons like financiers not funding FTBs, lack of investment both by the government and its policies discouraging investment from the private sector; stalled BOT projects not supported by banks, hence major corporates investments are struck; pollution clearance becoming a major concern in the blue metal quarry segment, sand quarrying and granite mining being banned in some states, coal and iron ore mining also banned in many states due to scams.

What is the growth potential for mini excavators?
The growth of mini excavators will be very good in the coming years.

How do you assess the potential for various attachments, especially in the demolition sector?
There is huge scope for various demolition attachments, provided the government is keen in paying the required amount to the contractor and timelines are fixed with huge penalties for defaulters.