Tipper Trucks: Higher Hauling Volumes
With range of continued new products introduction, tipper truck manufacturers take centre stage, P.P. Basistha reports.
The Indian rigid dump trucks market is getting characterized by rising traction. According to industry estimates, spurt in demand for new units is projected to take the market volumes close to 45,000 this year from 35,000 units last year. The growing demand is essentially being driven by surge in haulage requirements of granular sub base materials from upcoming road construction sector. Rising domestic coal production is also behind the new acquisitions. Tapping the fresh off-take requirements, manufacturers are widening their products range along with upgrading the existing ones. An interesting development, featuring the newer product introduction is that, OEMs are launching entry level products along with the products that command premium to deliver higher productivity.
Seeing an opportunity in the reviving Indian road construction sector, requiring movement of higher volumes of aggregates, VE Commercial Vehicles, a 50:50 JV between Volvo Group and Eicher Motors had displayed the new Eicher Pro 6025T 6x4 box body tipper truck with a 220 hp, 7.7 litre engine at Excon 2015. The truck is available in options of 14 Cum Rock/Box Body & 16CuM Box Body. Mr. P. Ravishankar, Executive Vice President - Sales, Marketing & after Market, Eicher Trucks and Buses says, "The response from the market for the Pro-range of trucks has been overwhelming. We have till now put over a thousand trucks on the roads, across both haulage and tippers."
Elaborating on the competitive technical attributes of the new Pro-series tipper trucks he says, "High gradients can easily be negotiated as these tippers come equipped with crawler gears to maximize torque at wheels. In quarry applications, terrains are uneven and the gradients vary, hence we have widest peak torque range in the Eicher Pro series tippers delivered by the 'VEDX8' engines, which minimizes gear shifts and improve turnaround. The best wheel torque in its class is delivered by combination of our own engines, designed at new engine facility in Pithampur built in collaboration with Volvo Group, heavy duty transmission and differential.Our customers have been getting around 5% higher fuel mileage compared to competition trucks. Eicher will soon come up with a VEDX5 4 cylinder engine in the Pro 6025 T tippers range.
He adds, "The heavy duty chassis and rugged bogie suspension ensures our 'Pro series' tippers last longer in tough and testing Indian operations." According to Mr. Ravishankar, "The Pro series of tippers and haulage trucks are meant for customers in infrastructure segment and quarry operations looking to utilize the units for higher productivity and longer performance between 8,000-10,000 km per month or 350- 500 hours per month. Higher productivity is delivered through ergonomically designed comfortable cabins which minimize noise and vibration, and allows the operator to work on the truck between 12-14 hours at a stretch."
Looking to leverage the Proseries brand, with more offerings, VE Commercial Vehicles will introduce Pro 6040, 6035, 40 and 35 tons GCW tractor trailersrespectively, by the end of this year. The joint venture company will also introduce Pro-6037, 10x2, 37 tons GVW haulage truck this year. The existing portfolio of Pro series other than 6025T tippers comprise of the haulage segment Pro 3013 (13 tons GVW), Pro 3015 (15 tons GVW), Pro 6025 (25 tons GVW), and Pro 6031 (31 tons GVW).
Mr. Ravishankar informs, "The existing VE Commercial Vehicles series of tippers and haulage trucks engines will be modified to make them more fuel-efficient and adaptable to Bharat stage-IV fuel norms. He contests the claim whether the Pro-series will shadow the VE Series range saying, "VE Series trucks are for entry level customers while the Proseries are for those looking for higher productivity." VE Commercial Vehicles manufactures tipper trucks in the VE series between 16-25 tons and haulers between 31-35-40 tons GVW. The company is selling 800-900 units VESeries range of trucks every month.
VE Commercial Vehicles will support the new range of Pro-series trucks through its 274 dealer points and 2500partsoutlets. The company is looking to popularize the products through road shows, where the demonstration of the products is being carried in actual loading conditions. VE Commercial Vehicles is also supporting its users through an upgrading programme run by the resale arm known as Eicher Sure where it facilitates exchange of old trucks.
Eicher makes the 'Pro series' and 'VE'series trucks and the engines through a joint venture with Volvo Group at its facility at Pithampur in Central India.
"Our two new trucks FMX 520, 10x4 dump truck with 26.1 cum rock body, powered by 520 hp engine and FMX 480, 10x4, 24 cum rock body powered by 480 hp Volvo engines have gone on to strengthen our position in coal mining segment. Both the products have been introduced for hauling over burden from mine pit to the stock yard. FMX 8x4, with 33 cum coal body is used for hauling washed coal & raw coal from mining pit to coal washeries or railway sidings. Our flagship FMX 440 8x4, with manual transmission and newly introduced I shift transmission option with 19.5 cum body is used for over burden application. The positioning of the different models is based on the Mine size and production demands. The entire range of the new and existing products, have been engineered taking into consideration the emerging big mining contracts running over 5-7 years and production demands in India with guaranteed throughput from the contractors. The offering will go on to strengthen our position as major transportation solution provider in the Indian coal mining and related overburden haulage sector," says Mr. G.V. Rao, Vice-President, Volvo Group Product strategy, Brand & Marketing.
Agreeing that mining topography extensively varies in India with regard to Haul road conditions, gradients and mining depths which may have its bearing on the productivity of the trucks. This despite the high advanced attributes of the Volvo tippers, Mr. Rao, mentions, "We work in close consultation with our customers to understand their applications demands and offer solutions". Based on the same, we provide appropriate driver training to have higher productivity of the trucks. Our Onsite aftermarket support is a bench mark in the mining Industry with our technicians, special tools and container workshops to increase the uptime of the vehicles.
Indian Trucking behemoth, Ashok Leyland will be introducing its 'Captain Economy' range of rigid dump trucks for the growing Indian quarry sector during the first quarter of 2016. The trucks will be available with gross vehicle weight (GVW) between 25-31 tons.
The trucks will comprise three models, Captain Economy '2518', '2523' and '3123'. The 25 tons unit will be having an axle configuration of 6x4 and 31 tons will be of 8x4. The new economy range of tipper trucks will be powered by Ashok Leyland's, own Hosur-series 180-230 hp engines. The 31 tons GVW rigid dump truck will be offered with 22 cum3 box body while 25 tons will be offered with 14 and 16 cum3 rock body variants.
Mr. Surendranath, Ashok Leyland Sales said, "The new economy range has already completed their validation tests. The new price competitive trucks will supplement our existing 'Captain Deluxe' range of rigid dump trucks. The 'Deluxe' range of tippers have found very encouraging acceptance among Indian quarry owners. This is evident, as we have sold 1200 units during last one and half year following its introduction in the Indian market."
Sharing details on the new 'Captain Economy' rigid dump truck, Mr. Surendranath said, "'Captain 2523' with hub reduction will be finding its application in quarrying. It will be able to work at depths of thirty meters, while 2518, a cross over vehicle can be used, both for surface transportation of aggregates and as well as for working in quarries. The vital competitive features of the 'Economy' range of trucks, making them suitable to work in quarries, are its totally suspended cabins. Fitted with pneumatic bellows and shock absorbers, the tipper trucks can absorb the ground impact, while operating on rough and undulated terrain. This will reduce driver fatigue consequently raising productivity."
He added, "The 'Intelligent Technology' option will minimize fuel consumption at least by 15% when the trucks will be returning back following unloading the aggregates".
To ensure stability and safety for the trucks hauling and tipping the loads at undulated mineral processing sites, bogie suspension, stabilizer bars and anti roll bars are the added new features in the 'Economy' range of trucks.
"We are upgrading our tipper trucks with new Bharat stage- VI engines from BS-IV. The upgraded tippers will be in the market by April 2017. The trucks with the Cummins 'D' series, 180-235hp, engines, adhering to the newer emission norms, will be fuel efficient. Further, it will continue to remain suitable for combined mode of applications, providing right power and tractive effort when working at as much as 25-30% steep gradients," says Mr. A. Ramasubramanian, President, AMW Trucks, which manufactures tippers of 16-31 GVW.
Catering the requirements of the newer range of tipper trucks, transportation solution provider, Hyva India is introducing bodies for the trucks to maximise performance. "For new trucks with higher gross vehicle weights, we have introduced lighter bodies with more capacity that can carry more weight. The bodies will also facilitate towards reducing fuel consumption," says Mr. Sudhir Chaudhary, Head-Sales, Hyva India.
The new bodies can also be mounted on haulers." The new bodies are available in 18-22 cu3 meters. Hyva manufactures tipper bodies in capacity range of 7- 33cum.
As part of package, for the new products, Hyva India has also recently introduced, its new 5th –generation 'Alpha' series hydraulic cylinders for the tipper trucks. "The cylinders are lighter, faster, safer and higher on tipping productivity and also providing higher equipment uptime. "The new generation of hydraulics with advanced cylinders, will deliver at least 10% savings on weight and will be 5 to 20% more productive depending on the no. of daily tippings. Further, it will provide added stability to the trucks while tipping the loads making it more safer. We are looking to introduce add on solutions based on the 'Alpha' platform in the near future," mentions. Mr. Chaudhary.
The ongoing activity at the tipper trucks manufacturer's stable heralds good for the industry as manufacturers are increasingly responding to newer applications, charactering product modifications and refinement. However, inclusive demand for the equipment will have to be stimulated through creation of infrastructure jobs in large volumes apart from newer financial packages, so as to make the products affordable to own and operate.
The Indian rigid dump trucks market is getting characterized by rising traction. According to industry estimates, spurt in demand for new units is projected to take the market volumes close to 45,000 this year from 35,000 units last year. The growing demand is essentially being driven by surge in haulage requirements of granular sub base materials from upcoming road construction sector. Rising domestic coal production is also behind the new acquisitions. Tapping the fresh off-take requirements, manufacturers are widening their products range along with upgrading the existing ones. An interesting development, featuring the newer product introduction is that, OEMs are launching entry level products along with the products that command premium to deliver higher productivity.
Elaborating on the competitive technical attributes of the new Pro-series tipper trucks he says, "High gradients can easily be negotiated as these tippers come equipped with crawler gears to maximize torque at wheels. In quarry applications, terrains are uneven and the gradients vary, hence we have widest peak torque range in the Eicher Pro series tippers delivered by the 'VEDX8' engines, which minimizes gear shifts and improve turnaround. The best wheel torque in its class is delivered by combination of our own engines, designed at new engine facility in Pithampur built in collaboration with Volvo Group, heavy duty transmission and differential.Our customers have been getting around 5% higher fuel mileage compared to competition trucks. Eicher will soon come up with a VEDX5 4 cylinder engine in the Pro 6025 T tippers range.
He adds, "The heavy duty chassis and rugged bogie suspension ensures our 'Pro series' tippers last longer in tough and testing Indian operations." According to Mr. Ravishankar, "The Pro series of tippers and haulage trucks are meant for customers in infrastructure segment and quarry operations looking to utilize the units for higher productivity and longer performance between 8,000-10,000 km per month or 350- 500 hours per month. Higher productivity is delivered through ergonomically designed comfortable cabins which minimize noise and vibration, and allows the operator to work on the truck between 12-14 hours at a stretch."
Looking to leverage the Proseries brand, with more offerings, VE Commercial Vehicles will introduce Pro 6040, 6035, 40 and 35 tons GCW tractor trailersrespectively, by the end of this year. The joint venture company will also introduce Pro-6037, 10x2, 37 tons GVW haulage truck this year. The existing portfolio of Pro series other than 6025T tippers comprise of the haulage segment Pro 3013 (13 tons GVW), Pro 3015 (15 tons GVW), Pro 6025 (25 tons GVW), and Pro 6031 (31 tons GVW).
Mr. Ravishankar informs, "The existing VE Commercial Vehicles series of tippers and haulage trucks engines will be modified to make them more fuel-efficient and adaptable to Bharat stage-IV fuel norms. He contests the claim whether the Pro-series will shadow the VE Series range saying, "VE Series trucks are for entry level customers while the Proseries are for those looking for higher productivity." VE Commercial Vehicles manufactures tipper trucks in the VE series between 16-25 tons and haulers between 31-35-40 tons GVW. The company is selling 800-900 units VESeries range of trucks every month.
VE Commercial Vehicles will support the new range of Pro-series trucks through its 274 dealer points and 2500partsoutlets. The company is looking to popularize the products through road shows, where the demonstration of the products is being carried in actual loading conditions. VE Commercial Vehicles is also supporting its users through an upgrading programme run by the resale arm known as Eicher Sure where it facilitates exchange of old trucks.
Eicher makes the 'Pro series' and 'VE'series trucks and the engines through a joint venture with Volvo Group at its facility at Pithampur in Central India.
Widened Offerings & Up gradations
Agreeing that mining topography extensively varies in India with regard to Haul road conditions, gradients and mining depths which may have its bearing on the productivity of the trucks. This despite the high advanced attributes of the Volvo tippers, Mr. Rao, mentions, "We work in close consultation with our customers to understand their applications demands and offer solutions". Based on the same, we provide appropriate driver training to have higher productivity of the trucks. Our Onsite aftermarket support is a bench mark in the mining Industry with our technicians, special tools and container workshops to increase the uptime of the vehicles.
Indian Trucking behemoth, Ashok Leyland will be introducing its 'Captain Economy' range of rigid dump trucks for the growing Indian quarry sector during the first quarter of 2016. The trucks will be available with gross vehicle weight (GVW) between 25-31 tons.
The trucks will comprise three models, Captain Economy '2518', '2523' and '3123'. The 25 tons unit will be having an axle configuration of 6x4 and 31 tons will be of 8x4. The new economy range of tipper trucks will be powered by Ashok Leyland's, own Hosur-series 180-230 hp engines. The 31 tons GVW rigid dump truck will be offered with 22 cum3 box body while 25 tons will be offered with 14 and 16 cum3 rock body variants.
Mr. Surendranath, Ashok Leyland Sales said, "The new economy range has already completed their validation tests. The new price competitive trucks will supplement our existing 'Captain Deluxe' range of rigid dump trucks. The 'Deluxe' range of tippers have found very encouraging acceptance among Indian quarry owners. This is evident, as we have sold 1200 units during last one and half year following its introduction in the Indian market."
Sharing details on the new 'Captain Economy' rigid dump truck, Mr. Surendranath said, "'Captain 2523' with hub reduction will be finding its application in quarrying. It will be able to work at depths of thirty meters, while 2518, a cross over vehicle can be used, both for surface transportation of aggregates and as well as for working in quarries. The vital competitive features of the 'Economy' range of trucks, making them suitable to work in quarries, are its totally suspended cabins. Fitted with pneumatic bellows and shock absorbers, the tipper trucks can absorb the ground impact, while operating on rough and undulated terrain. This will reduce driver fatigue consequently raising productivity."
He added, "The 'Intelligent Technology' option will minimize fuel consumption at least by 15% when the trucks will be returning back following unloading the aggregates".
To ensure stability and safety for the trucks hauling and tipping the loads at undulated mineral processing sites, bogie suspension, stabilizer bars and anti roll bars are the added new features in the 'Economy' range of trucks.
Vendors Add Products
The new bodies can also be mounted on haulers." The new bodies are available in 18-22 cu3 meters. Hyva manufactures tipper bodies in capacity range of 7- 33cum.
The ongoing activity at the tipper trucks manufacturer's stable heralds good for the industry as manufacturers are increasingly responding to newer applications, charactering product modifications and refinement. However, inclusive demand for the equipment will have to be stimulated through creation of infrastructure jobs in large volumes apart from newer financial packages, so as to make the products affordable to own and operate.
NBM&CW June 2016
