Over the last three decades, the need for energy efficiency, higher productivity, easy mobility and flexibility has been the focus to meet the growing customer needs. The growing urbanisation, high rise residential and commercial buildings, modern industrial infrastructure and the nationwide rural development programs have resulted in a range of concrete solutions. Keeping pace with the changing requirements of customers, AJAX Engineering developed a first-of-its-kind self-propelled boom pump, a complete solution that is built on AJAX’s own chassis with 4x4 transmission, three-way steering, lightweight compact design and fuel efficient engine. The 25 m boom pump mounted on this chassis has a revolutionary design to utilise the full boom length to reach the unreachable spaces in less accessible areas and deliver concrete effectively. The smaller tight turning radius of 3.5 m is the major differentiator between the conventional boom pumps for better maneuverability at confined site conditions.

The SPBP 25ZX has the smallest footprint in its class that helps in efficient maneuvering in crowded and narrow roads. The optimised power to concrete discharge feature of the boom pump delivers the highest volumetric concrete output with low-noise vibration factor.

The unique ‘X’ outrigger design requires minimum space and offers outstanding stability in both urban and rural environments. The 4x4 transmission offers a unique advantage to operate in tough and steep incline terrains, which is difficult for conventional truck chassis-mounted boom pumps, especially in remote location infrastructure projects.

The boom pump construction with light weight, high tensile special steel has made the AJAX SPBP the most fuel-efficient pump, which not only saves fuel but also reduces carbon footprint and increases profitability for customers.

The SPBP comes with state-of-the-art smart technology. The remote control system delivers safe, reliable and efficient operations in all types of application with ease.

The innovative pump unit and optimised hydraulic control system helps in cost-efficient and higher productivity operation.

The AJAX Smart Fleet Telematics solution is a unique system that gives real-time information of product performance, fuel efficiency, health of the machine and trip data to customers on their mobile phones or computers. This helps them to take timely decisions and improve fleet management with the help of performance reports generated by the system. The timely updates of service schedules ensure the on-time maintenance of the machines resulting in higher uptime and reduced cost of maintenance.

The superior built quality of components and systems in the machine offers a complete advantage throughout the lifecycle, even in rugged terrains with higher reliability and lower operational costs.

The pumping kit indigenously developed by AJAX is designed for optimum performance to support different types of concrete mix to suit respective applications.

Technology advantages

Overcoming challenges
Concrete boom pumps have been revolutionising the construction of large commercial and residential buildings and structures. The placement of concrete in inaccessible areas has necessitated the use of boom pumps in the current construction process. With the growing usage of ready-mix concrete, the need to use boom pumps has increased manifold. While the ease of pumping depends on the type of boom pump available in the market, the distance over which the concrete is to be pumped, nature of the project, site constraints and a number of other aspects can affect the operation.

Boom pumps are generally preferred in large infrastructure and residential projects because of its capability of pumping high volume of concrete in less time and saving substantial labour with its multi-purpose robotic arm. The project site of a leading RMC company necessitated for an optimal boom pump with small footprint that is accessible to sites with narrow spaces. AJAX conducted a feasibility study on the scope of the project and site conditions and offered a solution that met the requirements. The AJAX 25ZX boom pump that uses 4X2 chassis was perfect for the project due to its lightweight, flexibility and could accurately place the concrete while making the next available boom size of the competition that uses 6X4 chassis expensive and unsuitable for the project.

From the operational front, AJAX boom pump had a better reach in narrow spaces with short turning radius of 9.1 m, which a 10-wheel truck cannot reach due to its turning radius of 11 m. In terms of cost-effectiveness, the AJAX product was witnessed to be a low-cost runner owing to low-cost chassis and optimal boom size that greatly reduced customer’s initial investment vis-à-vis the competition. Considering all these factors, AJAX was eventually chosen as an optimal solution provider and resulted in the company bagging the prestigious project.

AJAX has a countrywide dealer and aftermarket support network that ensures high uptime and productivity of its machines. Committed to technology excellence and product innovation, AJAX has also introduced its indigenous slipform paver, apart from the self-propelled boom pump, for the first time in India.

- Ajay Aneja, Chief Marketing Officer, AJAX Engineering