Volvo Penta offers vast range of engines for construction, mining, material handling and agriculture equipment globally. Miron Thoms, Vice President & Head, Volvo Penta India, elaborates on the company's India market plans.

How do you look at the latest mining market trends in India?
The mining sector is on an upsurge given the economy's growth that has led to the need for local raw material. As an engine supplier, Volvo Penta can underline this fact by the growing number of mining equipment in India, powered by our diesel engines. We see a great opportunity for highly reliable and fuel-efficient engines to support the developments in India 'in time and at cost'.

What are the new initiatives from Volvo Penta to comply with the next level of emission norms, to be in force by 2020?
As a global company, we already have engines and products for the most stringent emission levels and we will be able to introduce technologies for the Indian market whenever new standards are introduced. The commonality of our engine platform means that our offer is scalable and ready for the future; already today.

We have already started to deliver engines from 105 to 565 kW for the European market in 2014. These engines are equivalent and comply with the India regulations BS CEV IV which are expected to come in force from 2020.

What are the new products and solutions for mining and construction machinery?
Volvo Penta offers 5- to 16-litre engines ranging from 105 kW to 565 kW. These engines are built on the Volvo Group's common design concept with optimised fuel efficiency and the most competitive total cost of ownership. These engines have a common platform across emission stage II, III and IV that helps OEMs with ambitions to serve different segments and markets, coupled with our second-to-none international aftermarket network. Further, our engines are certified for MSHA and CANMET which are globally accepted certification in mining industry. Also, the engines are equipped with heavy-duty cable harnesses as standard, especially for tough mining operating conditions. Furthermore, our complete engine range is certified for BS CEV III and is already installed in various construction and material handling equipment in India.

Volvo Penta diesel engines share a number of high-technology design features like compact design and high power-to-weight ratio, electronically controlled waste-gate turbocharger for increased block load acceptance, excellent performance with peak torque already at low engine speed, exceptional reliability, low fuel consumption and low exhaust emissions with long service life and intervals. All of this helps deliver the lowest cost of operations with maximised machine uptime.

Globally, we offer our complete range of engines, 105 kW to 565 kW to OEMs for a number of mining and construction equipment applications. To name a few are underground mining trucks and haulers where our engines are benchmark in respect to lower ventilation rates required. Volvo Penta sales engineering team offers full installation support and technical assistance.

We have a widespread after-market network and we continuously further improving the network with new touch-points. Today, we are present in 61 locations with over 85 touch-points throughout India. The regional warehouse in Bengaluru is delivering on-time parts support. In addition to this, Volvo Penta also offers a 24 x 7 Action Service support in India. Of course, Volvo Penta offers a global service network and support wherever the equipment is exported from India.

What is your share in Indian mining and construction equipment market? What is the sales scenario?
In 2017, we started offering our MDEP engine range, i.e. 105 to 235 kW of engines from our India factory; Made in India. We have developed wide range of customer base not only in mining and construction equipment segment but also agriculture and material handling segment. These engines are very well accepted by the customers and we are expecting very good growth potential in the India market.

What are your product and market expansion plans?
We intend to leverage on our 'Make in India Initiative' with offering engines that meet the highest standards when it comes to product quality, emission requirements and low fuel consumption, locally made. OEMs in India will benefit from being prepared to meet future requirements in India and being able to offer best-in-class TCO to their end customers.

What is your outlook on the market opportunities for your engines in mining space?
In order to satisfy the growing demands in India, the production capacity has to be increased rapidly. Efficiency and productivity is the key. The need for low TCO products and applications is growing which goes hand-in-hand with our product features: long service intervals, reduced downtime and low fuel consumption. Edge protection profiles Elesa+Ganter is expanding its range of products once again. Edge protection profiles and edge protection seal profiles ensure secure front-side finishes on covers, cable ducts or openings, for example. Elesa+Ganter is thereby offering everything that constitutes perfect sheet metal working from one source û even for smaller or occasional use. The edge protection profiles are delivered on rolls of 20 or 50 m in length, without a minimum order value. The edge protection profiles build not only an optically clean finish, but also they protect surfaces from damage and prevent cables or tubes from being worn down in their encasing. In addition, they speed up the production phase as the burring or chamfering of edges is largely eliminated. GN 2184 is available in two sizes, is made of extruded PVC and can be assembled manually. The metal clamp insert prevents it from detaching. The edge protection seal profiles GN 2180 and GN 2182 cater for edge protection and sealing in one. They are available in separate sizes and are made up of the clamping profile and the additionally extruded hollow chamber sealing profile with a softer finish. By applying the correct pressure, the profiles prevent dust, warm air or water spray from entering, while also reducing noise emissions. The clamp insert is made of a steel wire polyester combination, enabling a comparatively low minimum placement radius without the risk of an uneven profile fit or detachment. The seal profile is affixed to the top or the side of the clamping profile. The profiles are available in a choice of EPDM or NBR, or in a combination of PVC and EPDM. NBR are particularly ideal for applications where contact with fuels or oils can occur. The consistently high-quality materials are permanently elastic and have good resilience, making their sealing properties particularly long lasting. All profiles fulfill the RoHS and Reach requirements. The EPDM profiles of GN2180 are additionally certified according to UL 50 and UL 94-HB, rendering exports to the US-American and Canadian market problem-free.