BOBCAT has been providing Skid-steer loader with grader attachment as an apt solution for new rural roads and widening of existing roads. S Manjunath, General Manager - Sales, Doosan Bobcat India, shares more on the advantages of the concept and the market outlook.

How are you experiencing the demand trend for Skid-steer loader with grader attachments in various infrastructure segments?
We are seeing more demand for our solutions from the rural roads and road widening projects. BOBCAT has been providing Skid-steer loader with grader as an apt solution for new rural roads and widening of existing roads. The concept has been well received and accepted by the PMGSY and PWD project contractors. They find the Skid-steer loader with grader attachment as productive and efficient when compared to the conventional machines for the new rural roads and road widening projects where the space is constrained, and the width of road is between 3 to 10 m. We provide two options of grader attachment with blade width of 7 ft and 9 ft. The customer can choose as per the requirement and save on the cost of buying another machine for different blade width.

Since the government has been focusing on building new rural roads for better connectivity, the demand has been positive and is steadily growing.

As the financial year just ended, how is the year turning out to be for your company for the sales of Skid-steer loader with grader attachment?
The financial year 2018-19 has been a milestone for us with the highest sales records. Especially, when it comes to Skid-steer loader with grader attachment, it has been highly encouraging. We have sold a good number of Skid-steer loaders with grader attachment. More than 10 per cent of our Skid-steer loader sales have been large model with grader attachment, which is a fairly high ratio.

What are the emerging technology trends in motor graders, with respect to design and applications?
BOBCAT is equipped with technologies as 2D laser guided grading, 3D GPS-guided grading, sonic guided grading, and 3D UTS guided grading solutions. These technologies deliver precise grading with less time and using less labour. With accuracies better than one-fourth of an inch, automatic grade control systems can also save on time and material.

Since the operation of blade angle and position is automated, the operator's efficiency increases as they focus on steering the machine's travel rather than the blade position.

However, these are mostly used in developed markets where the application demands precise grading. Currently in India, we do not see an immediate requirement for this technology, however, we are tracking the market and we are ready with the offer whenever demand arises.

What are the features in your range of grader attachment? How does it compare with a conventional motor grader?
BOBCAT Skid-steer loader offers compact grader attachments suitable for rural road construction. There are two options of grader available based on the width of blade - 7 ft and 9 ft. Similar to large graders, the grader attachment has a blade that moves six different ways to grade any surface including 25-degrees blade angle, height adjustment left hand and right hand side which can be operated through fingertip controls on steering levers and also blade extension with maximum grading access. The bolster oscillates to minimise the effect of uneven ground, delivering consistent grading performance in a variety of environments.

A combination of compactness of grader, maneuverability and multi-functionality of Skid-steer loader, makes it ideal for working in confined roads of rural road construction. The same features also make it suitable for widening of existing roads as it can work without hampering the traffic.

What are your future plans for the market? How do you foresee the market growth in future?
Since rural roads form almost 90 per cent of the country's road network, it would not be an exaggeration if we say they are the real lifeline for the country. The shift is happening in terms of the vehicle penetration into the rural areas as they are rapidly getting developed. We definitely see a lot of opportunity in terms of rural road development, at least for the next 10 years.

We are also gearing up by doing more demonstrations and reaching out to the customers to educate the versatility, compactness and cost-effectiveness of Skid-steer loaders and grader attachments. We are educating our customers through SAMM (Segment Application Market Management) where the demo truck carries a Skid-steer loader with seven attachments. This SAMM demo truck visits key potential pockets with well-made plan. This helps us understand the challenges faced by our customers and promote the solutions we can offer.

Would you like to add any other aspects?
Significant advantage in using BOBCAT Skid-steer loaders is that besides working as a grader, it can be used for multiple applications including material handling, road cleaning, erection of road crash barriers, pavement repairs, brush cleaning in road sideways and many other jobs. This versatility of BOBCAT Skid-steer loader increases the utilisation of machine at road construction jobs site and helps in covering wide range of jobsite requirements with a single machine.

So, this machine can quickly transform into a loader with bucket, sweeper for cleaning the compacted surface, and cold planer with planer attachment offering more value for a road contractor operating in the PMGSY and PWD rural road segment.