In India it is becoming a trend to opt for newer cranes because the selection parameters are stringent and green initiative consciousness with multi nationals and even some government organisations have started according priority to newer cranes, says Sunil Makad, Director, Steel Carriers Infrastructure. Excerpts from the interview....

How do you organise trained personnel for operation and maintenance of your cranes?
We insist the OEMs to train our people and also provide regular updates. We also send them for training at various times depending on the requirement. When our personnel are deployed at the MNC sites the customers themselves provide detailed training and updates on safety. Additionally, to safeguard our interests we as owners are also fully trained on our cranes. It comes in handy during challenging times.

What are your suggestions to revive the crane rental segment?
I recommend that the government should come out with regulations to make the movement of cranes seamless across the state borders as well as international borders with our neighboring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar etc.

In this connection we have approached the state governments of Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to either provide us with relief by enacting legislations in their respective states. For example in Rajasthan we have approached the Chief Minister Mrs. Vasundhara Raje through The Crane Owners Association of India stating that the entry tax and RTO tax in the state is Rs.1000 per tonne weight of the crane per month quoting the example of crane weight of 200 tonnes wherein the tax constituent works out to be Rs.200,000 per month which is 25 percent of the monthly hire charges. While in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh the tax is only Rs 60,000 per year or Rs 5000 per month, for the same crane. In case there is uniform and reasonable tax rate in all the states it will help our business to ensure that we are able to our service at all locations without bearing arbitrary and exorbitant taxes levied by individual states.

Brief us on the market dynamics?
Most heavy cranes are concentrated in and around Mumbai. Few are in NCR region while some suppliers are now available in Bengaluru. Since the major concentration is in Mumbai region we have to travel criss cross in the country to serve our customers, most of the time is wasted in transit including tackling the border issues. So even if the job requirement is only for one day the actual time taken is ten days. This is also adds to the cost of the project.