Manufacturers sees good demand of Crushers in India

Followed by prolonged spell of business slump for the past two consecutive years, crushing and screening plant manufacturers are seeing gradual, although modest off take in demand of plants. Acquisition of new units is owing to fresh activities in quarrying and infrastructure sectors. Manufacturers are expecting the demand, though not too sure that for how long it will sustain. They are getting prepared through new launches to address the varied requirements; the new demand order may throw up. P.P. Basistha takes a look on the recent developments.

The recent decision of the Supreme Court, revoking ban on iron ore mining in Goa setting 20 million tons of cap on mining has brought cheers to the camp of crushing and screening plant manufacturers, reeling under the prolonged slump of iron ore mining arising out of the ban. Manufacturers are also cheerful on the big ticket expansion of Steel Authority of India. The PSU behemoth has recently commissioned its new blast furnace in its Eastern India facility, thereby requiring enhanced processing of iron ore. Targeted completion of Kalinganagar mega steel plant in Odisha by Tata Steel and that of Bhushan steel along with ongoing planned expansion of scores of secondary steel plants in West Bengal and Jharkhand are also the reasons for improved business sentiment. Expansion of newer road projects in North Eastern part of the country, required to be built through blasting-drilling and crushing is an added reason for improved business sentiment both for the tracked and wheeled plant manufacturers.

The new heightened business sentiment is not fully without substance as manufacturers have reported newer orders. The fresh orders have been from road construction aggregate segments and railway ballast sectors. Manufacturers expect the demand trend to pick up, however are not too sure what will be the magnitude of the off take and till how long it will sustain. The positive business sentiment is not without apprehension as competition is well likely to intensify with new lease of life to the sector with manufacturers rushing to fill up the emerging demand gaps. Manufacturers will look to take on the fresh round of competition through increased introduction of newer solutions.

Sandvik has recently introduced its CH 540 cone crushers for the Global market. The product is second in its line following CH550 cone crusher with 400 tph capacity. Introduced in Conexpo 2014, CH 540 has an output between 240 tph-350thp with a feed size of 185- 190mm. According to Mr. Ashoktaru Chattopadhay, Vice President (C&S), Sandvik, "we are quite sure that the new product will be filling up the gap of the customer's requirement in India." Sandvik has earlier launched 430-440 tph cone crushers. Mr. Ashoktaru says, "with CH540 we are now positioned as a solution provider in the entire range of cone crushers in the ever becoming competitive Indian & as well as global market."

He elaborates, "CH 540 has global quality standards. This has unique features of its plastic free (enviornment friendly) and uses IE3 motors. It is highly automated, Which enables 30% higher performance and throw upto 52 mm. The cone mounted on the wheel plant comes with bolted design, allowing it to absorb vibration and have a longer life with minimal replacement of spares and components at least by 25-30 percent. The added advantages are that being modular, it is quicker to assemble and dissemble the unit. Performance and operations of the machine can be digitally read." He continues, "Cost minimization has been ensured in our related material conveyors structures by making them powder coated as compared to normal painting in other contemporary conveyors. Several new introduction initiatives has been taken in pullies, impact pads etc.


Sandvik India has more than 400 tracked plants working in India. It has a fleet of 150 plants in Eastern India itself. To strengthen support to the existing population of plants and the newer units, the Swedish company has newly launched it's 24x7 service center which will monitor the MTTR (Mean Time To Restore) against each customer complain. In accordance to the programme, the company evaluates, time taken to restore the equipment through appropriate supply of parts and components following launch of the complaint by the customer. Mr. Ashoktaru says, "The programme has been launched, so as to minimize any possible productivity loss of the customers." He adds,"We have categorized our services into various levels, for e.g. Security and secutiry plus services which will provide the customer with extended warranty of the equipments against a minimum service charges. Taileor made Product support services are also rendered accordingly, based on the nature of the customers. To strengthen support further, we are in the process of appointing increasing number of dealers at strategic locations in Southern and Northern India. The broader objective is to be closer to our customers and render total product support through our team in a time efficicent manner."Presently, the company has three dealers one each in Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

New QM 350 bowl adjustment cone crusher has been launched by Coimbatore based crushing manufacturing major Propel Industries. Mr. Senthil Kumar, MD, Propel Industries says, " QM-350 is biggest of its kind in the country. The performance of the QM – 350 is incomparable and it gives a steady output of 350 tonnes per hour. Propel QM series cone crusher designed with unique combination of best power utilization per cone diameter, cavity design of higher density, optimized crusher speed and efficient throw this provides higher capacity with superior product quality. Higher cavity design in Propel QM – 350 improves the inter particle crushing action resulting in more consistent and superior product shape."

He continues, "cost savings can be made as propel QM – 350 cone crushers comes large stroke with high speed mantle and concave which generates less crushed fines. Uninterrupted feed hopper design ensures trouble free gravitational flow of feed materials, which saves not only the main shaft but also helps even wearing of liners, reducing the production cost per ton. This benefits the users at large to gain the returns on investment with in shortest period."

Mr. Kumar, informs, "performance of QM-350 has been greatly acknowledged by sand manufacturing major, LSC Infratech. The company produces 25000 tons/day. With wear of components being much lesser as compared to other cones, LS Infratech has also been benefited in getting the desired shape of -20 mm in two stage crushing. Other benefits has been through provisions of accurate CSS setting, excellent cubical shape with multi fracture faces in 2 stages at par with the shape of 3 stages in the crusher."

"While introducing newer products is a strategy to gain market share, operations and maintenance contract is our major strategy to gain market from existing and newer customers. Large chunk of business is contributed from our existing customers. We have been able to retain our brand identity through our well packaged services enabling them to downsize production costs. Further value engineering on our plants by provision of motors with lesser power consumption per ton aggregates crushed has been the other additives to drive business, enabling us to gain market share from our competitors", adds Mr. Kumar. Propel has its marketing, sales, and dealers network at Delhi, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Kerala Rajasthan, Uttarkhand and Andhra Pradesh.

Propel manufactures stationary, skid mounted and semi mobile plants between the capacities range of 150 – 600 TPH. Propel crusher equipment are available between 150-200-400 TPH ranges.

Another south India based mining conglomerate, Puzzolana Machinery Fabricators has developed new crushers (sanders). Mr. Abhijeet Pai, President, Puzzolana says, "Our new screens with skid/ mobile versions would go on to increase the productivity of plants and also contribute to conserve environmental conservation by producing manufactured sand. The optimum utilization of power and reduced operating costs are the pillars of growth for the Puzzolana group."

To gain market share, Puzzolana is expanding its footprint into newer crushing and screening areas at par with strengthening its base in conventional aggregates segment. According to Mr. Pai, "Our main line of business is aggregate/sand crushing. However, we have made our name in to raw material preparation plants for cement up to 1500 tph and coal mining (1000 tph) and crushing with introduction of feeder breakers, surface miners, twin roll crushers as well. All our machineries have completed the mandatory periods with coal fields and are in race with the other manufacturers. We score on at least 5-10% higher productivity with our machines compared to nearest competition. A key attribute to our new rang is the fact that the cost of owning of the products through the life cycle is considerably low." Puzzolana has recently supplied a twin roll sizer of 400TPH for a product of (-) 30mm for alumina crushing in very tough bauxite mines.

To minimize the cost of owning and operating equipment, Puzzolana is expanding its foundry and shortening the assembly processes. Mr. Pai says, "Our emphasis is to ensure quality 'Just in Time' production using six sigma like strategic manufacturing practices customized to Indian conditions and requirements. We are also planning to start off workshops and assembly abroad to be a global supplier with an Indian base."

Puzzolana has 2000+ Plants working in India. According to Mr. Pai, "The plants are supported by stock points throughout the crushing zones through our dealers and also stocking with our customers and through part contracts and maintenance contracts. We have service teams placed at 18 locations across India. In addition, parts are also available in 5 different locations and 5 more parts centers are under consideration."

Mr. Pai mentions, "We have planned to expand our business and to appoint dealers in North and North east parts of India and also in Middle East and Africa, where the business volumes are increasing."

Service Orientation

The introduction of new product is the chosen strategy of certain manufacturers to build up and retain market presence whereas strengthening of product supports have been opted by others to retain market space. This is taking cognizance to the fact that remaining closer to plant owners holds value if the project is taking place at a remote location, if it is time bound dovetailed with thinner business margins.

According to Mr. Rajen Khoda, Director Sales, South Asia & Middle East, Powerscreen, "our strategy has been to retain our brand image through 24x7 product support via our six dealers in the country spanning across the country with their main offices located in Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, North East & Chandigarh." Khoda mentioned, "How product performance and support have allowed us to retain over a 50% share in tracked crushing and screening plant business in the country." Powerscreen have + 1300 plants operating in the country. Some of the plants are working in remote locations for example in the North Eastern part of the country for projects involving the broadening of 105 km Guwahati-Shillong road connecting Assam with Meghalaya. These areas are located in tough hilly terrain frequented by incessant rains and landslides that often contribute towards cutting the road link from mainland Guwahati.

Following major slow down in Iron Ore Mining, Powerscreen refocused developing business in Construction segment with very encouraging results. Powerscreen will continue to increase its base in construction sector by improved product support as well as product improvement to meet the requirements of the contractors.


Our engineering division continuously strives to incorporate the latest technology into our products. From fully Integrated control systems which drive more intuitive operator interfaces, to implementing control system based fuel saving innovations and energy efficient direct drive transmission strategies, our equipment is at the forefront of the latest industry advancements. Our crusher range allows for complete interplant linking, ensuring more effective material flow through the entire process. The instinctive operator systems in our latest machine releases ensure that operator training can be carried out in a shorter period of time. This improves the ability of the operator to understand the process control and to manipulate the operating characteristics of the plant for differing applications and machine throughput. When this is combined with innovative diagnostics and operator information, it ensures plant productivity is maximized. Further I would like to emphasize that in Powerscreen, Research and Development are an important part of the Powerscreen strategy. Annually we hold focus groups and carry out numerous surveys to gain greater insight into current needs and identify changing market trends.

As a result of this feedback the engineering team are able to focus on incremental improvements to the existing product range and update our product development strategy to anticipate future market requirements

Mr. Khoda further added that despite concerns in the Indian market Powerscreen still see India as an important strategic market with potential. The main growth drivers presently have been

Better service orientation would also be the strategy for Wirtgen India to build up its presence in Indian crushing and screening market in 2015 that is when the German based company plans to introduce its Kleeman brand of tracked crushers in the Indian market with six different models initially. According to Mr. Ramesh Palagiri, MD, Wirtgen India, "Our marketing strategy has always been to be 'Close to our Customers' without any intermediate dealers. We have a central warehouse for spares at our Pune plant and at other locations across India which ensures timely delivery of spares to our customers. We have sales and service offices at 20 different locations across India from where our trained and efficient team can connect with our customers in a shortest span of time. The same strategy would be applicable for the Kleemann products also."

Mr. Palagri informs, "As the three big global manufacturers are already producing in India, the Kleemann fully built tracked plants from Germany would be offered for projects where high productivity and low lifetime cost is a requisite." To make the products affordable to Indian customers, Kleemann range of screens would be manufactured in Pune for which the process is underway. Improvisations would be made in the plants, in accordance with the Indian aggregate and mineral processing requirements.


While manufacturers may gain from introduction of newer product line and strengthening services support. However, broader issues of finance availability and viability of the plants running has also to be ensured.