T Ramesh, Country Head, Vermeer India, elaborates on the new trends in trenchless technology and solutions from the company.

In spite of the current slowdown, India is still a promising market for infrastructure development. How do you look at the opportunities?
The indisputable fact about India is the need for infrastructure across the country and across all segments. While the current slowdown has a strong impact on the industry and for various fraternity, this is not going to stop the growth in infrastructure.

Government plans and projects that are in the pipeline and being envisaged, will throw open abundant opportunities. Various measures being undertaken by the Finance Ministry and other departments will help the country come out of the present situation soon. Once the cash flow situation becomes better, the infrastructure development would pick up pace. Hence, we are optimistic about the opportunities and expect change in the present situation soon.

How is trenchless technology gaining traction in Indian projects?
Infrastructure has various dimensions as every segment like roads and bridges, power and energy, telecom, water, and oil and gas requires its own infrastructure. There was a time when trenchless technology was more related to telecom and oil and gas. Over a period, the awareness programmes, government regulations on trenching, and benefits of using trenchless technology has created a big change in the mindset of the industry and people have started using this technology in every segment including power, water, sewage etc. India being a developing nation and the need for infrastructure across the country has given rise to the usage of trenchless technology and this would help gain traction in various projects across the country.

Which trenchless construction methods are used in India? What are the products and solutions offered by Vermeer in India?
Trenchless solution is used in constructing infrastructure for various segments and projects of different dimensions, varying from telecom to oil and gas, water and sewer etc. Different infrastructure requires different type of methods namely horizontal directional drilling, tunnel boring, moling, auger boring etc. Globally, Vermeer offers solutions through horizontal directional drilling, auger boring and moling with different range of equipment suitable to different projects. In India, Vermeer offers the entire range of products but limited to size depending on the infrastructure requirement.

How do you offer trenchless solutions for applications in varying geological conditions?
Trenchless technology is used for creating infrastructure few metres below the ground and the challenge is understanding the strata at that level. Vermeer has solution with the right equipment and the right tooling to handle different strata ranging from soft soil to hard rock. Generally, the infrastructure contracting companies or the principal contractors test and obtain the geological report about the strata where they would be working and this helps in suggesting suitable combination of the equipment and tooling to handle different strata.

How is digitalisation picking up in construction equipment? What are the digital and IoT-based features offered in your product range?
Market perception about construction equipment has changed a lot from being thought as a tool to accomplish their work to an important part of their investment that aides in making real impact in their productivity and profitability. This has paved way for providing various modern amenities in the construction equipment and upgrade technology of the equipment in such a way that the equipment utilisation is to its maximum and the expenses are optimum. One such measure is digitalisation/IoT-based features. The backbone of the operation of our products is through electronic features. This not only makes it easy for the operator to understand the complexity and make it easy, but also provides safe and trouble-free operation. The operations are controlled by control modules and regular software updates. This helps in identifying faults, if any, without spending much human time so that the product is available for its work more. By following the operation guidelines provided through the digital media, the operator efficiency also increases, there by contributing towards profitability of the investor. In addition to fault findings, we also offer mechanism to track the performance parameters of the product that helps the owner to plan his working and make any alterations in the working style so that his productivity is increased, thereby increasing the profitability.

What are your expansion plans in India?
The need of the hour is customer experience and unmatched support to the market. Vermeer has taken this as a priority in the present scenario and is working towards expanding the reach. We are focusing on improving our support system and also working towards increasing the range of solutions offered. We would be focusing on improving and increasing the business network and solution and be open for changes required, if any.