Sandeep Singh, Managing Director - Tata Hitachi
Our excavator portfolio has a dual product strategy: Premium and Value for Money
In the premium segment, we offer the ZAXIS GI series of excavators powered with state of the art global e-service for management of fleet including preventive maintenance, utilization, monitoring, location and geofencing, reports etc, and ConSite – Consolidated monthly reports & alarm reports to stakeholders for quick onsite support.
For the value for money EX Super+ series of excavators, we offer inSite for management of fleet. In sync with the times and keeping in mind their needs, we ensure that our customers have all the information that is required for them to be competitive. InSite allow them to leverage machine information related to productivity, location and machine working, assessing the need for preventive maintenance, enabling access to operation reports etc. to maximize return on investments. InSite is also offered in Shinrai as well as in our 3T hydrostatic wheel loader TL340H.
The value segment has products with features that ensure better return on investments.
The EX Super+ Series of machines work in a wide variety of applications in various geographies across India, commanding best in class resale value. A better return on investment is assured with durable, reliable, fuel efficient engines, lower operating costs, robust structures and easy serviceability and maintenance.
They come with superior hydraulics with Hitachi’s Optimum Hydraulic system (OHS), Fuel Pump saving system (FPS), Cross sensing summation system (CSSS) – ensuring agile, responsive, precise, smooth and swift combined operations. Use of Absolute filter ensures long machine service life of 1000hrs, complete hydraulic system protection against contamination, and enhanced hydraulic oil change to 3000hrs.
Unparalleled versatility enables different applications – quarry, shovel for tunnel, rock breaker fitment ready; power optimization with different power modes (EP, HP) to suit applications; Auto idling (AI) and Auto deceleration for enhanced fuel efficiency without affecting productivity and power.
Efficiency enhancements include improved aesthetic cabin with comfortable HD suspension seat, all-round view, ventilation, hydra mounts for reduced vibration, heat reducing coating on cabin, heat insulating upholstery, FM+USB system, strengthened structures, powered with inSite for job site control.
The premium segment machines are fitted with industry leading hydraulic technology to ensure unbeatable performance, high fuel efficiency and high durability.
The ZAXIS GI series of machines are equipped with Hitachi’s latest HIOS III operating system; rapid arm roll-in using regeneration; fast arm speed during boom lowering; powerful lifting operation – using auto power lift mode; enhanced power boost which increases digging forces by 5%; increased durability; reliable engines Isuzu & Mitsubishi; solid front attachment, undercarriage and upper structure.
Other features are an easy to operate and aesthetic cabin with auto air conditioner as standard fitment; dust proof indoor net in front of radiator, grouped inspection points easily accessible from ground level, long duration hydraulic oil change at 5000hrs and filter @ 1000hrs. Multiple variants are available as per application – Standard & Quarry. An integrated support chain with inbuilt Global e-service powered by ConSite.
The major segment of the Indian backhoe loader market is hiring; hence fuel consumption is of utmost importance to customers.
Our latest offering in the market – the new backhoe loader Shinrai has been designed to meet demanding customer requirements. Shinrai boosts fuel efficiency with its EHS (Excellent Hydraulic System), wherein the flow is regulated on sensing the pressure of the system. Shinrai also comes with high bucket forces, dump height and good reach.
The 3T payload wheel loader TL340H comes powered with hydrostatic technology – the 1st in the country in its segment, giving best in class fuel consumption, ease of operation and maintenance.
ConSite & InSite represent next generation ICT technologies and have been implemented in our construction equipment range.
These technologies generate a lot of data pertaining to preventive maintenance, utilization, monitoring, location and geofencing, machine utilization reports etc. ConSite generates monthly reports / alarm reports to stakeholders for quick onsite support. This way big data is made useful to our end customers through dashboards that are meaningful to them.
The challenges in the field are twofold. Given the plethora of products by different OEMs in this space – there is a challenge to integrate these data systems into a standard system template that can take the utility of data to the next level – like that in construction management systems.
Further, most customers are still in the early stages of using smart phones / digital literacy to leverage next generation data systems, and this will continue to remain a challenge.
We are gearing up to meet the new emission norms coming in for wheeled construction equipment from October 2020.
We have been working on this for several years now and are ready with compliant products to meet the regulatory requirements. As per the current regulatory norms, our customers will have a 6-month window from October 2020 to procure and register current emission compliant equipment till stocks last, hence, we expect a smooth transition to the new norms.
The trend worldwide is for environment- friendly and newer hybrid technologies.
We enable our machines to deliver high productivity at a low cost to our customers through improvements in engine, hydraulic, structural, ergonomic & ICT technologies. This has been the trend worldwide with more stress being on environment friendly and introduction of newer hybrid technologies. In India, wheeled construction equipment are already compliant to BSIII CEV emission norms and stringent BSIV CEV emission norms are coming in October 2020. These norms will enable the CE industry to leapfrog several times by being environment friendly as these will be just a generation behind developed countries’ norms.
In case of non-road construction equipment - even though no regulatory requirement is currently applicable - our machines are already fitted with BSII & III compliant engines - in most cases - along with safety equipment like rear view mirrors, optional FOPS in select models, anti-skid surfaces, front cabin glass guards, ergonomic cabin, low noise / smoke engines etc. These are as per requirement of customers and show how the Indian customers are as demanding as those in other parts of the world.
We are ready to bring next gen equipment to India in case of customer needs or to meet regulatory requirements.
We were the first construction equipment company in India to showcase the Hitachi hybrid excavator ZH200 in EXCON 2017. We are now ready to bring in state of the art next generation construction equipment to our customers in case of their needs or to meet regulatory requirements. Given the higher priced nature of these equipment, we will be ready to offer the same to the Indian customer once they see value in using them and volumes of scale are achieved.
In India, the backhoe loader was introduced very early and this has culturally been accepted as the entry level equipment in the construction industry given its ease of use and mobility. Hence, a change from backhoe loader to mini excavator will happen, but slowly, despite increase in costs. The change could be faster if there is paucity and higher labour costs in parts of the country or opening of niche applications. Regulatory requirement to use compact machines in an urban environment will further give impetus to adoption of mini excavators.
Exporting to Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Middle East, Iran and Africa.
We have also entered Sri Lanka for certain products. Nepal and the Hitachi network are the two biggest markets for us, and we are excited about growing our business in Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.
In the SAARC countries, we face the same competition that we see here in India. The application needs of machines are also like those in India. We are working with our dealers to expand our reach and come closer to the customer. In Bhutan, the customers tend to prefer more premium products. These are also catered to from India, given our dual product strategy. In the Middle East and Africa, we cater to customer requirements as defined by our parent company HCM.
However, in some of these countries, customers are showing a greater preference for the tougher, value for money products and we are working with our parent company to leverage the EX Super+ series of excavators for such users.
We offer a comprehensive range of support solutions including diagnostic vehicles and mobile workshops besides the maintenance contracts.
We offer Full Maintenance Contracts, Annual Maintenance Contracts and Extended Warranty.
We have introduced field diagnostic vehicles for faster reach and immediate on-site resolution. Our mobile workshops can reach as close as possible to customer jobsites and carry out repairs. We have a full-fledged Re Man center at Kharagpur that supplies refurbished hydraulic equipment and Isuzu engines at a fraction of the cost of a new part. These maximize the ROI of the customer by optimizing equipment utilization.
For our mining customers, we have introduced full maintenance contracts through which they can avail complete onsite management of machinery by our service engineers. We store spare parts onsite and provide them with a fully equipped workshop to address all their requirements.
Apart from this, we invest in regular training of our field personnel so that they deliver the maximum value to the customer in minimum time with quality service. We prioritize our outreach to customers through a strong distribution network that aids in the servicing of products. We have set up Operator Training Schools at Kharagpur and Dharwad. As a part of the company’s CSR activity, the operator training school at Kharagpur imparts safe operating and servicing skills for excavators and backhoe loaders to the unemployed youth of the nearby villages.
The entire gamut of financial products is available to our customers based on their investment and tax needs.
We have tied up with various financial institutions to offer a range of financial products as well as customized financial payments as per the requirement of customers. To complement a better buying experience, most of our dealers have a local trade offering their used equipment to enable users to upgrade their equipment.
Through our dealers we are offering certified used equipment that are bought from our customers and then refurbished based on set guidelines and offered to customers who seek value in lower cost but highly valuable equipment that comes with limited warranty. Thus, we are now present in the complete value chain – from customer buying solutions to support solutions to disposal / upgrade solutions to refurbished certified used equipment.
We believe that the long-term growth for construction & earthmoving equipment is intact and positive.
This year, there were elections in Q1 that were quite disruptive and there were issues with liquidity / NBFC funding. All these led to a contraction of demand in the H1 of the year. We expect the demand to slowly recover in the 2nd half of the year, given the Government’s focus on infrastructure as well as the various measures taken to improve business sentiment and availability of liquidity.
India’s infrastructure sector is poised to grow significantly with the increasing demand for development of key infrastructure projects such as roads and highways, rural connectivity, urban infrastructure, including metro rail projects, ports and airports, industrial corridors, smart city projects, etc. The Government has initiated various steps for accelerating infrastructure development. Investment and implementation of key projects along with corrective measures and the industry-friendly policies of the Government will greatly help the infrastructure development in our country. Several projects have been announced last year opening up new avenues for the CE industry.
NBM&CW December 2019
