With over 325 years of innovation and passion, Husqvarna provides construction professionals with support, service and a wide range of machines, diamond tools and all accessories that you need to cut, saw, drill, demolish, grind and polish concrete. Tennyson Anthony, General Manager, India , Husqvarna Construction Products shares more on the company's India focus.

Opportunity 2020: For compaction equipment, we are the market leaders. We expect the infrastructure market to bounce back eventually and grow reasonably well. So we see continued opportunity for the range of compaction equipment in India.

Growth target: Our expectation is for the growth to double in three-four years time. Our upcoming factory will not just cater to the Indian market, but exports also. At present as well, 50 per cent of the business is from exports. We are looking forward to making India the emerging market hub. Hence, all our requirements for the emerging markets will eventually originate out of India. These emerging markets will include the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America, and parts of Asia as well.

Challenges: We look at it from the perspective of two different businesses, one of which is compact equipment business that we took over from Atlas Copco. The challenge is on the traditional or organic business. We did a market survey to gauge our presence in the India market. And, we realised that we need to work harder to give a great customer experience. So, we are working towards ways in which we can get our customers here in India to become more confident about the brand and that it is here to stay. We have acquired land for our factory and we are into the process of starting construction. Setting up a factory is a clear indication about how serious we are about the India market. Also understanding the market as a challenge earlier, to overcome which, we have an India team in place.

Smart technology: The engines in India either run on petrol or diesel. Then now you have the electric versions as well. Going forward, you will see more of the battery coming in. Also, now, it's all about artificial intelligence and IoT. We are moving in a similar direction - measuring the range that we have, the performance of the product that we have and the time interval between the servicing and maintenance kind of operations. So, as an organisation, Husqvarna does all of this.

Skilling operators: Constant training is conducted. We bring in application experts from across the globe into India. We have trainers assigned especially for the India market. They travel regularly to India to support the local team and ensure that their skill-set is improved. Considering the government's skill development goals, we will look forward to tying up with the government as well. My current challenge is to establish the business and set up the factory and have it running. And, this will be my primary focus in 2020. We are in the process of enhancing our aftermarket presence for the organic range. As we grow, we will set up more service centres in different parts of the country.