JCB India: Growing its Excavator Business Across Sectors
JCB India is leveraging its design and manufacturing capabilities to market its excavators as it aims to meet the rising demand from infra development projects. P.P. Basistha witnesses the company’s manufacturing prowess and wide range of products at the Excavator Day event organized at its Talegaon facility in Pune.
At JCB India’s Excavator Day event held at its Talegaon Heavy Line Unit, the company showcased a line-up of 16 different models of excavators ranging from the 1.6-ton mini (used for smaller applications) to the large 38.5-ton model (used for bulk excavation and mining jobs). Engineered for Indian applications, the structure and design of the machines are validated at the Test Track of the company’s Research Centre in Pune.
JCB India, a leading manufacturer of Earthmoving and Construction equipment, holds a manufacturing record of 40,000 units of excavators produced at its Talegaon facility ever since it was commissioned in the year 2006–07. The integrated facility undertakes fabrication, assembly, and design, and has now become a global manufacturing hub, catering to both domestic and international markets.
Speaking at the Excavator Day event, Deepak Shetty, CEO & Managing Director, said, “JCB Excavators have been helping build infrastructure in India for over two decades. They are manufactured with a high degree of localization and are also exported the world over. Infrastructure development activity is set to increase significantly, and these machines will play a leading role in this development. We have invested significantly in the design, engineering and manufacturing of our machines as per our global quality standards.”
Excavators comprise 35% of JCB India’s business and Shetty is confident that the figure is bound to grow in view of the large-scale infrastructure projects planned by the Indian government. Sharing the company’s preparedness and the wherewithal to take on competition and meet the increasing demand, Shetty said, “We are well positioned to meet demand in the excavator market with our wide range that can cater to varied applications and deliver lower cost of operations due to their fuel efficiency. Unlike most excavator manufacturers who take design inputs from their foreign principals or from their overseas design centers, JCB India has been designing its excavators at the company’s in-house R&D center in Pune, followed by rigorous on-field performance tests in real time. In fact, our products are completely indigenized and have been designed with a robust structure so that they can withstand the rough terrains and the hot and dusty site conditions in India.”
Shetty also does not discount the fact that demand for excavators in India is segmented into economical and premium, with some brands enjoying a good brand recall in both. “Though this is making business more competitive, we continue to focus on delivering total cost of operations to customers. We do this by making our products totally application-oriented – the reason why we have built up our business share in excavators, with good offtake from both first- and second-time buyers, and an encouraging brand recall. To give an example, our excavator JCB NXT 225 LCM, powered by a 148 hp engine, has longer maintenance intervals and delivers 5% higher output and has seen a very encouraging response from customers.”
The company is working on strategies like aggressive marketing of its products and is banking on the key design features of its products. Said Shetty, “With infrastructure activity being in focus, India must get world-class equipment to leverage this opportunity. We are very proud that our high technology machines are Made in India and are helping in infrastructure development. Our wide range of machines will ensure that our customers have a machine for every application.”
He concedes that the major demand for excavators in India will remain for the 20-ton class – especially from quarries, where operations entail extraction to loading. “Quarry owners are keen to reduce their operating costs and are always on the lookout for newer and more advanced machines. To meet this need, we have developed the Quarry Master - a 22-ton mechanical excavator; it is much simpler in design and easier to maintain.”
JCB has set-up an Innovation Facility in India to design products as per the needs of customers. JCB also works closely to develop capacity of its supplier partners, especially MSME companies, to create import substitution of components for excavators. These digitally enabled machines are a part of JCB’s Next-Gen range. They are fitted with JCB’s advanced Telematics Technology Livelink, which has revolutionised fleet management by giving real-time updates on the Service and Operations of the machines besides their Fuel Consumption, Performance and Security Alerts, allowing excavator owners to enjoy higher availability of their machines.
The company is offering product support through its 750+ outlets, 60 dealers, and parts warehouses in Pune, Bengaluru, Bhaproda, Kolkata, and Guwahati, supported by a workforce of over 8,500 trained engineers working across these service centers and dealerships.
At JCB India’s Excavator Day event held at its Talegaon Heavy Line Unit, the company showcased a line-up of 16 different models of excavators ranging from the 1.6-ton mini (used for smaller applications) to the large 38.5-ton model (used for bulk excavation and mining jobs). Engineered for Indian applications, the structure and design of the machines are validated at the Test Track of the company’s Research Centre in Pune.
JCB India, a leading manufacturer of Earthmoving and Construction equipment, holds a manufacturing record of 40,000 units of excavators produced at its Talegaon facility ever since it was commissioned in the year 2006–07. The integrated facility undertakes fabrication, assembly, and design, and has now become a global manufacturing hub, catering to both domestic and international markets.
Excavators comprise 35% of JCB India’s business and Shetty is confident that the figure is bound to grow in view of the large-scale infrastructure projects planned by the Indian government. Sharing the company’s preparedness and the wherewithal to take on competition and meet the increasing demand, Shetty said, “We are well positioned to meet demand in the excavator market with our wide range that can cater to varied applications and deliver lower cost of operations due to their fuel efficiency. Unlike most excavator manufacturers who take design inputs from their foreign principals or from their overseas design centers, JCB India has been designing its excavators at the company’s in-house R&D center in Pune, followed by rigorous on-field performance tests in real time. In fact, our products are completely indigenized and have been designed with a robust structure so that they can withstand the rough terrains and the hot and dusty site conditions in India.”
Shetty also does not discount the fact that demand for excavators in India is segmented into economical and premium, with some brands enjoying a good brand recall in both. “Though this is making business more competitive, we continue to focus on delivering total cost of operations to customers. We do this by making our products totally application-oriented – the reason why we have built up our business share in excavators, with good offtake from both first- and second-time buyers, and an encouraging brand recall. To give an example, our excavator JCB NXT 225 LCM, powered by a 148 hp engine, has longer maintenance intervals and delivers 5% higher output and has seen a very encouraging response from customers.”
The company is working on strategies like aggressive marketing of its products and is banking on the key design features of its products. Said Shetty, “With infrastructure activity being in focus, India must get world-class equipment to leverage this opportunity. We are very proud that our high technology machines are Made in India and are helping in infrastructure development. Our wide range of machines will ensure that our customers have a machine for every application.”
He concedes that the major demand for excavators in India will remain for the 20-ton class – especially from quarries, where operations entail extraction to loading. “Quarry owners are keen to reduce their operating costs and are always on the lookout for newer and more advanced machines. To meet this need, we have developed the Quarry Master - a 22-ton mechanical excavator; it is much simpler in design and easier to maintain.”
JCB has set-up an Innovation Facility in India to design products as per the needs of customers. JCB also works closely to develop capacity of its supplier partners, especially MSME companies, to create import substitution of components for excavators. These digitally enabled machines are a part of JCB’s Next-Gen range. They are fitted with JCB’s advanced Telematics Technology Livelink, which has revolutionised fleet management by giving real-time updates on the Service and Operations of the machines besides their Fuel Consumption, Performance and Security Alerts, allowing excavator owners to enjoy higher availability of their machines.
The company is offering product support through its 750+ outlets, 60 dealers, and parts warehouses in Pune, Bengaluru, Bhaproda, Kolkata, and Guwahati, supported by a workforce of over 8,500 trained engineers working across these service centers and dealerships.
NBM&CW November 2023
