JCB Committed to Serve Customers with Global Technologies and Best Practices

“As India is becoming a bright spot in the world economy, we feel that the time is right to get the global best practices in India. The rise in demand for safe and reliable products at work sites is driving demand for our ‘Made in India’ products, which are always designed and engineered with global standards for addressing customer needs. Furthermore, to make our customers and operators well versed with newer technologies, JCB has formulated teams across regions to educate users and stakeholders to help them extract maximum productivity out of the machines. JCB is also getting closer to its customers for providing excellent support services by opening more dealer outlets,” says Mr. Vipin Sondhi, Managing Director and CEO, JCB India Limited in an interview with S.A.Faridi.



How do you see 2016 and beyond for the infrastructure and construction sector?

The outgoing year has been a positive period for the Earthmoving and Construction Equipment industry, this is primarily owing to the growth in the Roads and Highways sector. The CE industry has grown close to 45% in the months of January to October 2016, as compared to the same period in 2015.

Government’s immediate focus will be to ensure that growth is sustained as that will set the pace for the coming years. Sectors such as Railways, Irrigation, Urban Rejuvenation, and Power, offer immense growth potential that can be tapped.

The long-term sustained growth will largely depend on how the infrastructure industry evolves. We are, however, quite hopeful that sustained growth will lead to demand in the ECE sector. As the economy would further stabilize, we expect to see a growth of around 10-12% in the coming years.


Constructing 40km of roads a day needs a higher-level of mechanization and expertise. It entails technically sound equipment on one hand and more skilled workforce with the contractors on the other. Is the industry ready to handle such a daunting task at both fronts?

The Road building industry has been exposed to advanced compaction equipment in the recent past; these products are specifically designed to meet the growing demands of time-bound projects. For e.g. – Intelligent Compaction system is a fairly new concept in India, however, it is fast gaining popularity because of the advantages it offers.

Organisations such as PWDs, PMGSY or NHAI have started adopting Intelligent Compaction systems for compaction measurement. Though the implementation is at a nascent stage, we are seeing a change with many organisations adopting this system.

The JCB range of Compactors is equipped with compaction measurement system as per the IRC - 097 norms, and the system is available as an option at present.

A major focus area has been in the area of skill development. As products become technologically oriented, skilled workforce becomes equally important to bring the best out of the machine. The Government, in the recent past, has taken several key initiatives to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of skilled workforce. As an industry, we need to ensure that we support these initiatives and contribute in whatever way we can.

At JCB, we have set up 15 Operator Training Centres wherein we provide a one-month training course (both classroom and practical) to candidates on how to safely and efficiently operate machines. Many of these centres are accredited with the IESC and are operating under the guidelines of the Ministry of Skill Development.

The government is focusing on infra development in the North-East and sub-Himalayan regions. Due to difficult terrains and limited approach, these regions need different product placement strategies and market support. How is JCB positioning itself to reap maximum benefits from this opportunity?


Infrastructure opportunities in the North-East and sub-Himalayan region will be substantial drivers of growth in the coming times. Government’s thrust is visible from the recent project announcements and investments. A fair amount of on-ground activity is already visible. This infrastructure development will also be instrumental in regions becoming more prosperous.

According to the recent report “Rebooting Indian Infrastructure” published by Feedback Consulting, the Government in 2015 had already announced $2.3 billion for road construction in the North-East, of which $1.5 billion was set aside for Nagaland exclusively.

JCB is actively present in the North-East and sub-Himalayan region with its wide range of products, and more importantly, with a dedicated after-sales support. The product support network, which has been built over many years, is instrumental in ensuring a world-class customer experience.

How is the digital revolution helping to control cost and improve efficiency, productivity, and safety of construction equipment?

IoT is a technology of the future and will positively affect the lives of one and all. It is truly a game changer for the Indian Construction Equipment industry. In 2015, we introduced an advanced telematics system known as JCB Livelink in our range of machines, and today, we have over 25,000 Livelink-enabled machines working successfully in India. We recently introduced this technology in Nepal and customer response has been extremely encouraging.

This technology not only allows our customers to remotely manage their machines, but it also provides real time updates on Service alerts, Operations, and Security by using the Geo Fencing and Time fencing features. Owners of Livelink-enabled machines get SMS alerts regarding the health of the machine including the engine. We have set up a world-class central command centre at our Delhi-NCR facility to monitor these machines in real time.


Despite growing demand in the market, there is stiff competition; what has your strategy been to retain existing customers, while adding new ones to your portfolio? What kind of support are you providing them? What do you envision for the year 2020 and what will be your strategy to achieve your goals?

Competition is always healthy. Today’s customer is not just looking for a product; he/she is looking for a complete product solution which JCB offers. Our products are always designed and engineered towards addressing customer needs. JCB is committed to increasing its range of Made in India products to cater to an even wider customer base.

We recently introduced three world-class Made in India product lines in the Material Handling segment - the Telehandlers, the Skid Steer Loaders and the Super Loaders. The rise in demand for safe and reliable products at work sites is what is driving the demand for our material handling range. As India is becoming a bright spot in the world economy, we feel that the time is right to get the global best practices in India.

At present, there are limited options available where safety, productivity, and versatility are combined. Today, customers expect more utility and more productivity from the equipment and without compromising on the safety aspect.

We have also introduced a large range of Wheeled Loading Shovels as we see potential in the Mining and large infrastructure projects. Our largest Wheeled Loader, the 455ZX is manufactured at our Pune plant and is also exported to various countries.

Apart from leading products, we have established the largest after-sales support network with over 60 dealers and 650 outlets spread across India. These far-reaching outlets provide the vital product support to customers for their equipment. Four strategically set-up warehouses in Pune, Chennai, Faridabad, and Kolkata, support these dealerships and outlets for parts supplies.

Over the next few years, we will introduce more products in the Indian market and at the same time, we will get as close to our customers as possible by opening more dealer outlets.

As one of the leading construction equipment manufacturers in the world, is your company engaged in knowledge sharing/training of your Indian customers to ease their jobsite challenges?

As India gets exposed to newer technologies and products to replicate the global best practices, we feel that it is important that our customers and operators are well versed with these technologies. For instance, the newly launched Telehandlers by JCB as a new concept in India required familiarisation in terms of safety, productivity, and operations. We formulated teams across regions to educate users and stakeholders on the various parameters. This ensured that the users were able to extract maximum productivity out of the machine in a safe manner. Not just Telehandlers, JCB is committed to replicate best practices in other new product lines as well, as and when they get introduced.

How is the bauma Conexpo preparation going on, and what will be the company’s focus during the show?

The preparations are on in full swing. JCB will present an exciting line-up of its Earthmoving, Construction and Material Handling range. Visitors will experience machines exhibiting performance with world-class design and quality during the event.

The recently launched JCB 30Plus, the 3T Mini Excavator will be displayed for the first time during the show. Our Tracked Excavator portfolio and Road Compaction range will also have some exciting additions in the range. We will also exhibit the latest 5.5T payload Wheeled Loader known as the JCB 455ZX. This new machine has already gained popularity in the market. The Made in India range of Telehandlers, Skid Steer Loaders and Super Loaders will also be showcased. In short, JCB will exhibit its entire range of Made in India machines at the show.