Best Stories

Search

How critical equipment helped rescue trapped workers in Uttarkashi tunnel collapse

Manual tools, such as hammers and chisels, became the instruments of choice.

How critical equipment helped rescue trapped workers in Uttarkashi tunnel collapse

Manual tools, such as hammers and chisels, became the instruments of choice

Avoid Tunnel Vision Syndrome

The Uttarkashi Tunnel Collapse signals the risk to our Rs 100 trillion infrastructure investment says PRATAP PADODE

Enhancing efficiency

India’s construction equipment market is growing quickly, and this is stimulating demand for bearings. The bearing industry is expected to grow at a rate of 9 to 10 per cent in the years ahead.

Lifting up!

The hoist market is expected to grow at a CAGR of up to 7.3 per cent till 2025.

NHAI to build 5,795 km NHs in aspirational districts

Over 100 Aspirational Districts would undergo the construction of 5,795 km of National Highways (NHs) under a Rs one trillion programme, which is about to be unveiled.

We are committed to being a technological partner to CE OEMs

Pramod Francis, Head – Application Engineering, CCTY Bearing India

ACC promotes sustainable living with 100 green building centres

ACC offers a unique and sustainable model of living through Green Building Centres (GBC). In 2020, GBCs enabled 31,477 affordable homes across India through GBC products.

Opportunities in bulk for cement

As per estimates of total projects to be sanctioned and those upcoming and under construction across sectors, the hope is to see better days ahead—quantitatively and qualitatively—for the cement industry.

The D-factor

Where the demand will be coming from for the construction equipment industry?

Delhi Mumbai expressway SPV gets ‘AAA’ rating

The National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) fully-owned special purpose vehicle (SPV), DME Developers (DMEL), has received AAA rating from CRISIL, CARE and India Ratings. The SPV is executing the Delhi-Mumbai expressway project.

WIRTGEN: Driving excellence on greenfield pro-jects

Purvanchal Expressway is a prestigious greenfield project under construction in India. It commences near village Chand Sarai, located at Lucknow-Sultanpur Road (NH-731), district Lucknow and concludes near village Haidaria on National Highway No.19, before 18 km of Uttar Pradesh-Bihar border, in district Ghazipur.

JCB launches its range of CEV stage IV backhoe loaders

The range includes the new 3DX Plus, the 3DX Xtra, the 3DX Super & the 4DX to meet a wide range of applications for customers.

Delhi Mumbai expressway SPV gets ‘AAA’ rating

The National Highways Authority of India’s fully owned Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), DME Developers Ltd. (DMEL), has received AAA rating from CRISIL, CARE and India Rating.

Seeking Light at, the End of the Tunnel!

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to inaugurate the world’s longest railway tunnel above 10,000 feet height on October 3. The Atal Tunnel is being completed at the most difficult time of coronavirus pandemic.

7 WOLFF cranes working at ODE project in Amsterdam

ODE is a new office and residential building currently under construction in the heart of Amsterdam on an area of 75,000 sq m. Seven WOLFF tower cranes are at the site to support the successful completion of the project.

7 WOLFF cranes working at ODE project in Amsterdam

Seven WOLFF tower cranes are at the ODE project site in Amsterdam to support the successful completion of the project

Highway construction yet to pick up: CRISIL

According to a CRISIL Research report, the highway construction in the country is yet to gather momentum in spite of the relaxation for construction sector across the country.

Highway construction yet to pick up: CRISIL

The highway construction in the country is yet to gather momentum in spite of the relaxation for construction sector in the country.

JCB India gets new Managing Director

JCB has announced the appointment of Subir Chowdhury as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at JCB India.

Open Letter to Finance Minister

The construction industry employs 35 million people, which is more than the population of Australia or Malaysia, and contributes 8 per cent of India?s GDP.

Advance BIM for rail on WDFC

Using a multidiscipline portfolio of Bentley applications, L&T was able to conceptualise, design, and construct the project in a timely manner.

We are a preferred automation partner for market leaders

B&R India has established seven offices in major cities of India and has expanded its Pune office space to match the growth.

Revenue growth to halve for EPC road cos through FY21: CRISIL

Road developers in the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) segment could see revenue growth halve in fiscals 2020 and 2021 to ~15 per cent, compared with 30 per cent in fiscal 2019, a CRISIL study of 75 companies it rates in this sector indicates.

JCB India appoints new MD & CEO

JCB has announced the appointment of Subir Chowdhury as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at JCB India.

Towering opportunities

Choosing a tower crane is increasingly about safety and productivity features, as customers seek to lift more with less power, upgrade to a higher capacity economically, and safely use multiple cranes at space-constrained project sites.

Scaling New Heights

An anticipated growth in high-rise constructions is going to drive the demand for advanced construction hoists in the coming years.

The Eleventh Hour Is Here!

By 2025, the construction market in India is expected to emerge as the third-largest globally.

Adani to ramp up Kattupalli port capacity

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) plans to invest Rs 530.31 billion to scale up capacity of Kattupalli port in Tamil Nadu to 320 million tonne (mt). The port currently has a capacity to handle 24.65 mt of cargo.

Intelligent Technologies

A skyscraper or super-tall building is usually characterised as a landmark in a city. For smooth construction of these structures, it is necessary to have experts who can manage technologies from material to maintenance, and apply them to work.

We are launching new products at Excon

Government of India has given impetus in fast tracking various infrastructure projects, especially in road, railways, ports and airports sectors. There are also large irrigation projects under construction in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states.

Palfinger Marine secures orders of 151 cranes

Palfinger Marine was chosen as supplier of platform and nacelle cranes for the Trianelwind farm Borkum II. The wind farm, located in the North Sea approximately 40 kmnorth of the island Borkum, consists of 32 Senvion 6.2M152 turbines.

BMCT trainees gain new skill sets

Thirty eight trainees who were inducted into the Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals(BMCT) team since August this year have successfully completed several phases ofextensive training.

The Platform for Premieres

Comtrans 2017 has once again demonstrated its position as the leading trade fair for decision makers in the commercial vehicle (CV) and transport industry in Eastern Europe.

Laying the foundation

In Punjab, the new national highway, NH-52, is under construction with two lanes in each direction. The new road will provide many communities with better links to the national road network. In some parts, the existing carriageways are being refurbished and widened, while in other sections, totally new roads are being constructed.

Linden Comansa tower cranes at Real Betis stadium

The Spanish football team is completing the expansion of the ?Benito Villamarin? stadium with the support of three Linden Comansa cranes model 21LC290 from rental company Eleva Gr?as Torre.

Don't stymie equipment & technology

The recent inauguration of India's longest bridge above water, the 9.15 km Dhola-Sadiya bridge by PM Modi coincided with the completion of three years of his government in office.

In Eco-town Construction

About 40 machines from Volvo CE including excavators, haulers, and motor graders are being used to build a luxury, gated 533-acre township in Malaysia.

The Road Ahead

In spite of the government's policy shift towards building four- and six-lane National Highways as concrete roads, plans to construct more rural roads and coastal roads will drive the demand for asphalt plants in the future. EQUIPMENT INDIA explores the road ahead for asphalt plants.

On A High!

High-rise construction is catching up momentum with more and more sky scrapers of 300 m and above are coming up in India. With these high-rise constructions, Indian construction industry is gradually moving towards the next level of technology which has necessitated the use of new and improved construction equipment to meet the demand of safe and quality construction.

Our tower cranes are 100 per cent locally sourced and manufactured

We mainly focus on brand building. This is an opportunity for our customers to come and meet us and see the products on display. This year, we launched a crane at the event in two variations: 6 tonne and 9 tonne. It is completely localised, positioning us well in the market.

3 CIL coal washeries under construction

According to reports, only three Coal India washeries out of 15 to be operationalised by 2017, are at the construction stage. Meanwhile letters of assurance have been issued with regard to five others having a capacity of 34.5 MTPA.

3 CIL coal washeries under construction

FRP MUD GUARD FOR COMMERCIAL VEHICLE

FRP mud guard that Suvarna Fibrotech offers is used in various commercial vehicles and acclaimed for long lasting life and termite proof. These mud guards help protect vehicles from the roads splash and road debris which is thrown by the tyres.

Liebherr cranes at Queensferry Crossing

In Edinburgh (Scotland), more than 12 Liebherr cranes, including three Liebherr 630 EC-H 40 Litronic top-slewing cranes are involved every day in the Forth Crossing Bridge

Big 5 East Africa launch

dmg events has announced the launch of The Big 5 Construct East Africa to cater to the expanding regional construction sector.

Saudi Arabia contributing rental market in GCC region

Growth in construction activities has emerged as the major driver for the demand for construction equipment in the GCC region.

Walking the Talk

The promises of ?Acche Din?coupled with the the ?Big Bang? expectations from the FY16 Union Budget, are more to do with the government walking the talk and bringing in continuous reforms which positively impact the financial and economic landscape.

Road To Success, Under Construction

A martial arts student went to his teacher and said earnestly, ?I am devoted to studying your martial system. How long will it take me to master it?? The teacher?s reply was casual, ?Ten years.? Impatiently, the student answered

Proper planning before the use of boom pumps is essential.

World One, the world?s tallest residential skyscraper, with a proposed height of 442 m and 117 floors, is currently under construction in Mumbai. Simplex Infrastructures, the major contractor for this project, has put to use 60 concrete pumps and 30 boom placers.Sudheer Vathiyath talks to Samar Ghoshdastidar, Technical Director, Simplex Infrastructures, on the role played by concrete pumps in placing huge quantities of concrete continuously.Excerpts of the interview.

We have an advantage with our products and service support

The slowdown has helped us approach most of the rental companies. We have increased our footprint in services and reach, and we have initiated health checks for the machines.

Partnership on a Roll

Assisting GR InfraProjects in its day-to-day operations is a vast and diverse fleet of Volvo Construction Equipment. Together, they deliver what the company is looking for solid performance at site on time, every time.

Reducing On-site Rework

Prosteel helps PDC Consultants cut the production of second review drawings by 50 per cent. The company completes deliverables four months earlier than expected for iron ore surface mining operation expansion.

Complete Batching Solutions

With four manufacturing facilities in Chennai, the company has the biggest manufacturing facility for batching plants in South Asia. The increased demand for ready mix concrete and the growing need for a range of batching plants to choose from, can both be met by Schwing Stetter India

Odisha to build 200 more bridges under Biju Setu scheme

In Odisha, the State government would build 200 more bridges in the state at a cost of Rs 700 crore in this current fiscal. The government on July 20 announced that the bridges would be built under the Biju Setu Yojana. The State Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, at meeting decided that the bridges would be built on 111 rural development and 82 panchayat roads. The tender process would be completed by October.

Construction of bridges starts on Manali-Leh road

Maintenance of the Manali-Leh border road is important from the defence point of view and it will be complete up to Sarchu till 2018. He added that BRO had been making this border road, a double-laned road as well as had been carrying out the metalling of the road for the past several years.

PM to inaugurate Mughal Road on June 25

In Jammu and Kashmir, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to inaugurate the Mughal Road later this month. However, the work on the historical road project connecting Border Districts of Poonch and Rajouri with Kashmir is not fully complete. The Prime Minister is scheduled to inaugurate the road on June 25.

JSW Steel's auto grade steel plant

JSW Steel will commission the first phase of its new 2.3 million tonne plant, which will produce high-grade automotive steel, by September this year.

Bridge on ECR Link Road in Chennai to open by May-end

The under construction bridge on ECR Link Road in Chennai will be thrown open for traffic by May-end. With this, residents of southern parts of the city may soon have a hassle-free ride on ECR Link Road, which connects Rajiv Gandhi Salai with East Coast Road. The ECR Link Road is vital as it connects traffic between Sholinganallur and Akkarai.

Waiting for the Rejig

The foundation has always been the starting point and the most important part of any project. The foundation industry in India though, is still struggling from lack of attention and want of new projects.

BC Trench Cutter Technology

BC trench cutter technology is the most advanced technology for cut-off walls in hydroelectric power schemes.

Batching Plants & Transit Mixers

With three manufacturing facilities in Chennai, Schwing Stetter India has the biggest manufacturing facility for batching plants in South Asia.

Trenchless Project Supervision

The Indian Society for Trenchless Technology (IndSTT) has come out with a Manual of Trenchless Project Supervision to provide necessary inputs for project supervision works.

Manitowoc Meets the Challenge

Four Manitowoc Crane Care technicians were challenged with mounting a Manitowoc 18000 crawler crane to a barge ? while the barge was still under construction.

Shinde assures protection to power equipment industry

The Union Minister of Power Sushilkumar Shinde assured the Indian power equipment industry of adequate protection. He was talking at the inaugural fun?ction of ELECRAMA 2012 in Mumbai organised by Indian Electricals and electronics manufacturing Association (IEEMA).

Leading the Pack

With three manufacturing facilities in Chennai, Schwing Stetter India has the biggest manu?facturing set-up for batching plants in South Asia. Schwing Stetter India has proved its mettle amongst all odds, setting records in the industry.

India is a key market, and we are strongly committed to its growth

Based on our 10 year plan, by 2020 we hope to be able to secure about five per cent of the whole construction equipment market share in India which comes up to half a billion US dollars. That is our target and we hope that we can progressively move towards that. 1 - - 22720 14 102 2011-12-01 00:00:00.000 Agith G Antony Racing Ahead The Indian CE section, at present the fifth largest CE market in the world, is tipped to become the second largest CE market by 2015, and by value terms, to reach 15 billion by 2015, and a whooping 20 billion by 2020. The ongoing race to stand tall and deliver is slowly but steadily changing the rules of the game. Agith G Antony trains his gaze on the changing CE horizon.

Ask any of the global OEMs who have set up shop here long ago or in the last couple of years, or for that matter, eask any new entrant how they perceive the potential of the Indian market. Their response is invariably couched in cliches: 'India is a key market and if you are not in India, there is something amiss with your business strategy.' Truth to tell, that response reveals the track on which the growing CE industry is heading.

"India is a key market and we are strongly committed to its growth," says Sew Chee Jhuen, President, Singapore Technologies Kinetics, which has recently forayed into the Indian CE market with the launch of a motorgrader. "For the new plant, we are pumping in around $15-20 million. Our total investment planned for next few years is $35 million. We are not limiting ourselves to this alone; we plan to build another factory very soon in India," he further adds.

At a recent press meet, Vipin Sondhi, Managing Director & CEO, JCB India stated, "We have no option as a country but to invest in infrastructure at all points in time." It is quite possible that the statement reflects what is in store for the construction equipment industry, and how OEMs are charting their business strategies to acquire a major share of the market.

The Prognos World Report, released way back in 1995, indicated that the classic industrial countries will only be contributing a third to worldwide growth by the year 2025, whereas, following the same timeline, the Indian economy was tipped to be a major catalyst stimulating international business growth. Today, India has emerged as one of the nations shaping world economy, a preferred investment destination and one of the world's most rapidly growing markets. Its national economy, its demographic structure and its high, sustained rate of growth has tagged India as the second most important market after China, coupled with the fact that contrary to China, domestic demand is already a strong development factor.

It's crystal clear: the role of India in the world economy has become so pivotal, certainly not because of the recent crisis, (though that must have accelerated matters, of course) but simply because of the huge potential India holds as a fast developing country. As per reports, the mid-term forecast for the next five years indicates that the gross domestic product in Europe and the US will grow at moderate annual rates while emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil are expected to maintain a much higher growth. The economic crisis, as well as the recovery after it, certainly had its impact in the global construction equipment market. For global OEMs with diversified enterprises, harsh impact in particular markets were largely offset by positive development in others. In fact, the total investment of many an OEM has gone up to considerably high levels again.

The dramatic shift in terms of sales of construction equipment from classic markets to BRIC nations is already evident as more global players are anchoring alongside the Indian shoreline. Over the last half decade, the number of global OEMs entering the Indian market has shot up; this includes major players from Japan, US, Germany, Korea, etc. On the other hand, domestic companies have also been either expanding their domestic capacities or diversifying their product portfolio. The result - with the emergence of new market players and expansion plans underway, the industry is expected to become more competitive and as a result, more fragmented.

Says DK Vyas, Chief Executive Officer, Srei BNP Paribas, "As per our estimates, the present organised equipment market for infrastructure and construction equipment (ICE) in India should be anything around Rs 24,000-28,000 crore ($4.7-5.5 billion). Thus, the construction equipment financing industry should be pegged at around 85 per cent of this figure. The growth of the ICE sector will be healthy. Our calculations tell us, when our GDP grows at 9 per cent annually, the annual growth rate of the ICE sector is at around 30 per cent. But in a worst case scenario, if the annual GDP growth rate even slows down to 6 per cent, the annual growth rate for ICE will be around 20 per cent. With such growth prospects, it is no wonder that global ICE majors are making a beeline to India and setting up shops here."

The construction equipment manufacturing industry estimates that CE demand will cross 100,000 units during 2014, whereas the contribution of the CE rental business, perceived to be another growth driver, is expected to double from the present seven to eight per cent of the size of the global industry to 16 per cent by 2015. Even though the industry spirit is currently dampened due to the volatility in oil and commodity prices and inflationary pressures, and to some extent, the alleged scams and corruption charges, the overall picture is quite positive and the sector is bound to see growth every year, propelled by government policies and support from the private sector.

As the rules of the game change, so do the trends. The increasing dominance of price-and-value focused customers, increasing awareness on the utility and versatility of specialised equipment, deeper engagement of global equipment manufacturers in India, increasing opportunities for exports and last, but not the least, the emission norms and greater emphasis on reducing the negative impact on environment, have been moulding the CE industry's trajectory onto a more responsible path as never before.

The emphasis today clearly is on creating capacity and backing it up with dealer networks and efficient service. As per sources , India will need an infusion of $1 trillion investment during the 12th Five Year Plan; there is no doubt though that the country has become one of the top priority markets for many global OEMs. A mere glance over the past five years' growth supports this fact.

As research inputs suggest, companies need to pursue four growth-enabling initiatives to expand the market. These include enhancing the quality, delivery and price of after sales services to increase share of service revenues from two per cent of total revenues to the global average of about eight per cent; addressing key gaps in financing to catalyse latent demand particularly in rural areas and small towns; expanding dealer and channel network coverage to address buyer fragmentation and quality, and proactively strengthening supplier capacities and capabilities.

The increasing competition from product imports from other low-cost countries that could potentially challenge the industry growth and the ever-increasing input costs have been a major challenge for the industry. To address these issues and achieve full potential in the market, OEMs have embarked on strategic initiatives: introducing India- specific products that includes low-priced multi-purpose equipment to attract new customers and to increase mechanisation in important areas; improving cost positions to better deal with the onslaught of competition from LCCs; and pioneering efforts to boost exports in areas like engineering and design services that leverage India's technical prowess.

Another perceptible shift is towards green procurement. Customers who rely on energy-efficient and environment-friendly machines will have an advantage over their competitors. The increasing fragmentation of the industry, with more players setting up production facilities for specialised machines, is an indicator of the industry going greener.

The Bharat Stage-IV norms are already in effect for automobiles and the BS-III is now in effect for most other segments except gensets; in all, it constitutes a major initiative to bring down the carbon footprint. One of the challenges faced by the manufacturers of diesel engines today is to develop products that will deliver higher performance, longer life, lower operating costs and at the same time, with less of an environmental impact. To comply with these standards, engine manufacturers have invested in the research and development of new, cutting-edge technologies aimed at taking diesel emissions levels to near zero. It's heartening to note that JCB has already launched the ecoMAX customised for Indian conditions and emission norms; Mahindra Navistar Engines will introduce a 4-cylinder engine to the Indian market for various genset and construction equipment; Cooper has moved up the value chain through a logical diversification in the engine and auto?motive manufacturing business and has launched a multipurpose, flexi-fuel, twin-cylinder engine, for which commercial production has already begun.

But on the flip side, the rising input costs and lack of a clear-cut road map for clean fuel are major deterrents. Another major challenge is to bring down the technology gap between the organised and unorganised segments. Ironically, while every other sector has been moving towards reducing emissions caused by engines, the genset industry has been largely inactive. There was even a move to extend the deadline for introducing the new norms for gensets. Thanks to the tireless efforts of some of the manufacturers, the deadline of 1 October 2013 stays effective and not only that, most of the manufacturers have already geared up for these new norms; some of them have already introduced their lower emission diesel engines into the market.

The point is, the unorganised sector neither has the resources nor the technology to develop such engines. Concerted efforts from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi and the Association of Diesel Engine Manufacturers Association (IDEMA) and unorganised segments , could dramatically reduce the technology gap, thereby reducing emissions from diesel engines. With this in place, we can look forward to a cleaner and greener industry.
More importantly, more and more OEMs are charting different routes other than the classic ways of sales and service, to make it more holistic in terms of product offerings and relations with clients. Some leading OEMs have already started implementing the concept of MARC, though not to the fullest extent as it exists in the developed markets. Still, EI believes it's a good beginning.

A recently released report from the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) forecasts that the world's manufacturing output growth will be slower this year, compared to the last year. As per the report, the developing countries have maintained high growth rates of manufacturing with production increasing by 11.1 per cent. For 2011, the MVA growth of industrialised countries is likely to be around 3.2 per cent, whereas that of developing countries is expected to grow by 8.4 per cent. Clearly, India and China are where the action is.

The role of India in the world economy has become so pivotal, certainly not because of the recent crisis, (though that must have accelerated matters, of course) but simply because of the huge potential India holds as a fast developing country.

The rigs we supply are examples of utmost technological innovation

Our target is to supply 135 units this year (Jan to Dec) and we expect to grow by 20 per cent for the next five years, says DV Brahme, Regional Manager, Mait India Foundation Equipment.

CSE: Cleaner & Safer?

The crushing equipment segment has come of age in terms of technology, capacity, and safety features. As per Central Pollution Control Board of India reports, the stone crushing industry has an annual turnover of Rs 5,000 crore, equivalent to over $1 billion.

Feedback Form

Search

Digital Edition

Contact Us

ASAPP Info Global Services Pvt Ltd.

TWITTER FEEDS

POSTS CATEGORIES