Equipment Makers High on Tie Ups

To add value to their product line, the equipment manufacturers are increasingly entering into the technical collaborations, reports P.P Basistha.

Technical alliances are once again gaining grounds among equipment manufacturers at an heightened pace. This is largely due to increased demand for newer and advanced solutions for emerging job site requirements. Demand potential for newer equipment is added reasons for collaborations.

From business perspective, the fast emerging competition is making equipment manufacturers focused on point of convergence backed by technical pacts. From revenue point of view, under point of convergence, a single equipment manufacturer can make available assorted equipment and solutions to contractors to cater to varied construction requirements. Product solutions backed by engineering support, can also be made available to other equipment manufacturers for carrying out product advancements.

Backed by the business perspective, VECV-50-50 joint venture between Volvo & Eicher motors, has made an investment of Rs.2,880 million on the Medium Duty Engine Project (MDEP). The project will undertake production and final assembly of Volvo Group's new global medium duty engines. The investment was made during the year 2010 by Volvo at Eicher's Pithampur plant. According to a recent release of the company, "the investment will give the entity a complete facility in India to manufacture and assemble new medium duty engine which will be introduced in Volvo group's trucks and buses division worldwide in the next few years. Additionally, these engines will be used for Eicher's range of heavy duty commercial vehicles in India."

The release says, "the MDEP facility is one of the largest and technologically most advanced, capable of producing base engines for Euro-6 emission norms." The engine facility at Pithampur is likely to be commissioned early next year.


VECV under its joint venture has also set up Eicher Engineering Components division with production facilities in Thane and Dewas (Madhya Pradesh), which manufactures crown wheels, pinions, transmission gears and shafts. VECV components division caters to the components requirements of Volvo trucks and also for other OEM's.

To cater the growing requirement of equipment prototype, VECV has also set up Eicher Engineering Solutions Wing (EESW) at Gurgaon near Delhi which provides comprehensive product development services, comprising Class A surfacing, CAD, CAE prototyping. The revenue streams of EESW are catering to the requirements of VECV and other organic business and offshoring.

Volvo trucks have presence in niche construction market bearing capacity from 14-49 tons. Eicher caters to the mass construction materials haulage market from 5-40 tons.

Advanced Solutions

For advanced crushing solutions and to manufacture new line of mobile crushers, Proman Infrastructure Services Limited has entered into a technical collaboration with Tesab Engineering Limited of Ireland.

Mr. R.S. Raghavan, Managing Director, Proman, says "Our tie up with Tesab is altogether for single equipment and the tracked machines will be imported while wheeled plants are going to be manufactured in Bangalore. This will make the pricing of the plants competitive. The tracked crushers will have an output of 100-400 TPH while the wheeled units will be having capacities from 100-300 TPH." The crushers will be branded as Proman-Tesab.

"Technologically, the crushers would be superior and can be operated continuously at mining sites and big infrastructure projects. The machines will be cost competitive to operate as well. The tracked crushers will be coming with Caterpillar power pack and equipped with a large rear loading hopper with low feed in height and hydraulic adjusting crusher. The wheeled crushers are self-contained mobile units with a Caterpillar power pack as well," he said.

Mr. Raghavan added, "Proman has been able to add value to its stationary plants through technical collaboration with Lippman, Ortner, Finedoor and Remco. The collaborations have enabled us to manufacture the units in India rather importing them, thus making the products price competitive. Further, alliances have added value through regular induction of latest technologies in our plants. This has resultantly enabled Proman offer world-class products to our customers.


PROMAN manufactures Vertical Shaft Impact Crushers in collaboration with M/s REMco. As per the company, PROMAN-REMco machines produce cubical, well-graded, sound, mid-range aggregates, specification sand and other fine sizes."

In collaboration with LIPPMANN of the USA, PROMAN manufactures heavy duty primary Jaw Crushers under technical collaboration with Lippman US. The jaw crushers have the capacity to produce 100 to 500 tons per hour of aggregates . The company manufactures PROcone a cone crushers for secondary and tertiary crushing. Technical alliance with Finedoor of UK is for manufacturing grizzly feeders.

PROMAN also in collaboration with M/s Aggregate Equipment Industries, USA manufactures the unique Ortner for the removal of fines from the product available from crushers. Mr. Raghavan informs, "PROMAN has flexibility in the form of PROMO series mobile crusher and PROMAN-Striker range of Tracked Machines."

He mentiones, "collaborations give us special edge also when it comes to give services to our customers. Proman provides after sales service for all our products be it stationary, mobile or turnkey plants backed by advanced engineering expertise."

Newer equipment solutions are also being introduced by Revathi Equipment Limited (REL) which has entered into a marketing tie up with Tescar Srl of Italy for marketing the mini piling rigs in India. REL, would be considering taking up of manufacturing of piling rigs at a later stage. As per Mr. L.S. Shashiprakasha, Vice President, Business Unit Head, Drilling Equipment Division, REL, "Currently, the Indian construction sector have a choice of bigger size rigs.The machines have restrictions to work in crammed job sites. Besides this, they are uneconomical to be applied in small job works. Our mini "CF" Series rigs will be applicable to precise application involving, piling in soft soil, in restricted spaces, solar panels, railway pole erection, etc. They will be able to perform inside the compounds of real estate housing projects and other confined areas with low head room. "Two of the CF series piling rigs are in operation near Delhi for a prestigious project. The CF series piling rigs come with a diameter from 400 millimeters - 1800 millimeters. The mini CF series Tescar piling rigs are available in seven models comprising CF 2.5, CF-3, CF-4,CF-6,CF-10,CF-12, and CF-18 with different attachments.

REL construction equipment division offers full liner concrete equipment with technical collaboration from German manufacturers. The company's ISO certified production facility is located at Gummidipoondi, near Chennai. REL started its operations in Coimbatore in 1978 where it has its manufacturing facility for mining equipment.

Puzzolana has entered into a collaboration arrangement with Gudetti of Italy. According to Mr. V. Venkataramana, Vice President, Puzzolana Machinery Fabricators, "Taking into cognizance fast emerging business potential in road construction equipments, we have entered into a joint venture with Gudetti. The joint venture company will be indegenously producing pavers, compactors, motor graders using the Italian technology. The products will be marketed in India and Europe." Technical collaborations will introduce advanced products and solutions. However, to complete process, companies will have to focus on after sales support both through components and service availability. This will call for finer synergies with equipment manufacturers and their parent, companies.


Collaboration apart, new products are being offered by mobile concrete equipment manufacturer, Conmat Systems Private Limited. As per Mr. Nagesh Kudva, Director, Conmat said, "Recent launch of Fully Mobile Concrete Batching Plant has created a great dent in such application. Versatile, fully mobile with hitech features have been well appreciated by users. Presently, we have introduced 20 & 25 cu mt/hr capacity Mobile plants and are in process of introducing 35 cu mt/hr Mobile plants very soon. These we have specially developed for Irrigation sector for canal CC lining work. Our standard Stationary Plants which are working all over India have performaed to the fullest satisfaction of valued customers." Conmat is in the process of upgrading the software of its existing concrete batching plants and customised application and reporting. The company is planning to introduce new products in near future. Conmat is in the process of entering into a technical tie-up with Sermac of Italy for concrete trailer mounted pump and boom pumps. The pumps will be having capacity ranging from 45 Cu‎m/h-120 Cu‎m/h.