SSIPL is upbeat about the concrete equipment industry in Kerala, as it showcased its largest concreting boom pump in India at the 40th IFAWPCA.

Schwing Stetter India, one of the pioneers of concrete construction equipment in India, has revealed plans to tap the burgeoning Kerala market, when it showcased India?s largest concreting boom pump, along with six other revolutionary products, at the 40th International Federation of Asian and Western Pacific Contractors? Associations (IFAWPCA), organised by the Builders Association of India (BAI) at the Gokulam Park Hotel and Convention Centre, Kochi.

The German company is a market leader in the concrete equipment manufacturing industry in India, and is closely associated with the Kerala market for concrete production, transportation and placement in the areas like roads, railways, bridges, ports, airports, dams, high-raised constructions, power projects for supply of ready mix concrete.

According to Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), the construction industry in India is expected to grow to a size of $ 6.5 billion by 2014. According to CREDAI, there is a shortage of skilled labour in Kerala, despite the 1.5 million migrant labourers working across the state. Schwing Stetter can address this burgeoning problem with the mechanisation of the construction industry.

The mechanisation of construction in the country is also reflected in the market size of construction equipment. Presently, the size of the organised and semi-organised equipment manufacturing sector in the country is about Rs 1,800 crore and is growing.

Schwing Stetter also provides onsite operator training programmes for Schwing Stetter?s concreting equipment at Chennai. The programme is customised as per customer?s requirement and provides skilled workforce to customers through the Operator Training School. The duration of the course is two months for each of the products.

Anand Sundaresan, Managing Director, Schwing Stetter India, said, ?The construction equipment market will be driven largely by the planned development of infrastructure and the economic growth of the country under the ongoing 12th Five Year Plan (April 2012-March 2017), where the government has broadly planned for an investment of $1 trillion on infrastructure.? He added that Kerala is a very important market for Schwing Stetter.

?Schwing Stetter believes in presenting the best-in-class products and we are proud to showcase India?s largest concreting boom pump developed by Schwing Stetter at the 40th IFAWPCA 2013. We have demonstrated the next level of mechanisation of concreting,? said VG Sakthikumar, Chief Operating Officer, Schwing Stetter India.

According to the Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the growth of concrete equipment market in India was predominantly driven by demand from metros (Tier-1) and Tier-2 cities. However, now the focus has shifted to Tier-3 and Tier-4 cities, the demand for ready-mix-concrete has shown a steady increase.