On a high growth path

The government's focus on infrastructure development is expected to drive the demand for mini construction equipment.

On a high growth path

The government's focus on infrastructure development is expected to drive the demand for mini construction equipment.

Mini excavators are in high demand due to rapid urbanisation

E. Moses, Executive Vice President, Division Head, Kobelco Construction Equipment India, speaks on different models and specifications of mini equipment offered by the company.

iQuippo brings Kobelco’s equipment on its platform

iQuippo announced a strategic partnership with Kobelco Construction Equipment India to market and sell construction and mining equipment manufactured by the OEM on its platform

Show of Faith

After using Kobelco excavators, model SK210 and SK350, and other brands, Naidu's Infracon is equipped itself with the latest Kobelco excavator Generation 10, SK220XDLC-10.

Kobelco India minimises slowdown impact

Aggregate demand in India has decreased over 20 per cent due to the impact of the economic downturn. Kobelco Construction Equipment India, which has been developing the market in the country by selling state-of-the-art machines for the high-end market, also suffered the economic downturn.

Excavator Market Looking at Boom

As per Off-Highway Research, crawler excavators will be the fastest growing product of the near future, and its demand should grow to over 30,000 units in the next four to five years.Excon 2013 bears testimony to the fact that OEMs are gearing up for the anticipated demand for excavators. Some of the leading players either launched new models or showcased upgraded versions. Volvo CE launched two productive and powerful models in the D Series - EC220D and EC300D; JCB showcased its completely

Stalled but Hopeful

In spite of the present slowdown and resultant sluggishness in the CE market, the long- term growth prospects are still intact; and experts view the huge infrastructure deficit as a major growth driver and prudent steps from the government can bring India back on the growth trajectory.

On a recovery mode

The construction equipment industry is experiencing a slump due to the slowdown in the mining industry as well as delays in infrastructure projects and governmental clearances, shortage of funds, environmental concerns. EQUIPMENT INDIA interacts with some of the major players to get the pulse of the industry.

We would like to stay ahead as technology leaders

Kobelco has already emerged as the first choice excavator primarily due to its highly fuel-efficient engine and better productivity leading to much higher savings as well as output/earnings,

The Show Must Go On

The stalwarts of the CE industry deliberated on the Green Initiatives in the 4th Equipment India Conference held during the India Construction Festival.

We will be introducing more machines locally in the near future

We offer a very comprehensive range of excavators in India from 14 to 85 tonne. These are extremely environment friendly, Tier III machines, with possibly the best fuel average and high production,

Kobelco's Premier Plant

Kobelco Construction Machinery, a group company of Kobe Steel, inaugurated its first manufacturing plant in India to manufacture hydraulic excavators, enabling Kobelco to make a full-scale entry into India's rapidly growing construction equipment market.

Kobelco machines are known for its fuel efficiency

Everywhere in the world we are amongst the top four players; we expect to do the same in India, says Vikram Sharma, Managing Director and CEO, Kobelco Construction Equipment, 0 - - 15135 14 162 2011-04-01 00:00:00.000 Equipment India Eurotire is dedicated to the mining industry

?The combined product and services capability of GmmcoEurotire allows us to provide our Indian customers with world-class OTR tyres and service,? says Kent B Henschen, Vice President, Marketing Communications, Eurotire Inc, while speaking about the company and its strengths to Equipment India. Excerpts from the interview.

How do you look at the potential of off-the-road tyres, especially for large-sized tyres?
Eurotire's focus is on supporting OTR tyre customers in the world's emerging mining markets and we believe India holds a huge potential for our products. Our products include not only OTR tyres but also our unique approach to providing service and support for large OTR tyres that we call EuroCARE. Our total focus is on creating and supporting large-sized tyres for the mining industry. As a result, we have the knowledge and expertise to help our customers maximise the value they receive from their large OTR tyres.

We believe that the potential for our products is growing and will continue to grow. There are many in the industry who also believe that it is only a matter of time before there are widespread global tyre shortages again as there was just a few years ago. Many large OTR tyre manufacturers, including Eurotire, have increased manufacturing capabilities in preparation for this next increase in demand. There has been consolidation in the supply side as well. Whether the net increase is sufficient to meet that next round of high demand is yet to be seen.

Tell us about Eurotire, its global footprint, and your tie-up with Gmmco?
Eurotire is focused on the support of the world's emerging markets and can be found on six continents. We have recently opened an office in Kolkata and have partnered with Gmmco to form GmmcoEurotire. This partnership combines high quality Eurotire products with Gmmco's expertise for providing service and support and includes more than 40 Gmmco locations strategically located throughout India's mining regions. The combined product and services capability of GmmcoEurotire allows us to provide our Indian customers with a world-class OTR tyres and support programme.

Could you brief us about the investment part?
Eurotire has taken substantial actions over the last few years to ensure that we are able to support the growing global demand for our products. We have invested over $70 million in major upgrades and expansion of our bias tyre plant in Ukraine. The increased capabilities of that plant will certainly help us in continuing to meet growing customer demand for bias tyres.

How strong is Eurotire's presence in radials?
We have invested over $300 million and nearly three years in building a ground-up, state-of-the-art radial tyre design and manufacturing facility in Romania. In fact, the plans for the new facility were expanded while in process to further increase our capabilities for meeting the needs of our customers during the next increase in demand. The OTR radial tyre product from this plant is state-of-the-art with materials compounded and tested in-house by Eurotire engineers. We began radial tyre testing in 2009 and full manufacturing of specific sizes began in 2010. We are continuing the creation and field testing process to expand our radial tyre line with tyre sizes being added over the next years. Our final goal is to have a complete range of radial tyre products from 18? to 63?. Eurotire will be in a very good position to meet our customer demand.

What about the replacement market?
Eurotire is strongly positioned in the replacement market with the majority of our products replacing the installed products of our larger, primary competitors. Our focus is value-driven, not replacement- driven. In other words, we are not only able to replace the products of our competitors because we have a quality, competitively priced, but because we sell the product to the customer that they need for the application and then stay with the customer after the sale to ensure that they receive maximum value from that product. This is EuroCARE, our start to finish value- adding service programme. Eurotire is also an approved tyre supplier for haul truck and loader OEMs. In fact, the CAT trucks purchased by CIL in 2010 carried Eurotire OTR tyres on them.

How do you look at the competition in this area?
Eurotire has formidable competition throughout the world, from large multinationals to well-entrenched regional manufacturers. In India, we have an advantage by partnering with a market leader, Gmmco, to ensure that we are able to provide world-class OTR tyres and tyre services to our Indian customers. Our dedication to bringing product value to our mining customers is what differentiates us from others.

How do you look at the retreading segment?
Retreading is not a viable longterm solution in mining applications where high temperature, medium to long hauls, rough haul roads and difficult loading conditions are a concern.

Tell us about your products and services and future expansion plans, if any?
Eurotire is dedicated to the mining industry. We design, manufacture, service and support OTR tyres for 60-tonne and larger haul trucks and large wheel loaders. There are two primary approaches that Eurotire takes which we believe are unique to the tyre industry. The first is that we are addressing the needs of emerging market customers. We believe that during the last peak demand period for large OTR tyres, there were markets that were under-served by the large tyre companies. In addition, as the emerging markets continue to grow in number, they will again be under-served by those same companies during the coming upturn in global demand. Eurotire will be there to provide the support that the emerging market customers need to succeed.

The second approach is that Eurotire is not only supplying a tyre product, we are partnering with our emerging market customers to provide full lifecycle management of our tyres. We provide supply and then work with the customer on an ongoing basis to maximise the life of the tyres. Essentially we are with our customers from start to finish, taking the burden of lifecycle tyre management from the customer and allowing them to maximise the production they receive from their tyre products. In India, Eurotire has taken a major step to ensure that our customers are well supported by partnering with Gmmco. The GmmcoEurotire alliance will support world-class OTR tyre service and support in India.

MILESTONES

* Eurotire's history dates back over 50 years. The Eurotire Ukraine facility was established in 1959 as a Tire Research Institute dedicated to the development of large OTR tyres. The Research Institute has been directly responsible for the creation of over 250 OTR tyre patents as well as development of the designs and equipment to manufacture the largest tyres in the world.
* In 2004, the Eurotire brand was established. In 2005, the first Eurotire branded tyres began shipping to the world.
* In 2007, Eurotire embarked on the creation of a new radial tyre facility in Romania and has invested over $300 million in its creation. Today that state-of-the-art facility is producing world-class radial tyre products and the product line will continue to expand.
* Eurotire is dedicated to the mining industry and through our unique approach and dedicated and experienced employees we are changing the face of the mining tyre industry.

Excavators Settle In Comfortably

The market potential for hydraulic excavators in India looks to be most promising, as a large number of players have entered the scene. What's more, the boom is expected to last for quite some time. Agith G Antony digs up the facts.

Exceeding Expectations

The recently concluded bC India exceeded all expectations. Take a look at the statistics: More than 22,000 visitors from 69 countries, 508 exhibitors from 30 countries, 70 per cent of them from abroad; the international flavour further underlined by nine international pavilions, creating a new dimension for the construction industry.