Escorts Kubota: BLX Series of Backhoe Loaders with 75 hp Escorts Engine
Sanjeev Bajaj, Chief Officer, Abhijit Shinde, Head - Material Handling and Compactors and Suresh Ayeegoundanpalayam Kathirvel, Head - Earthmoving Sales, Escorts Kubota, share their expansion plans and business opportunities from the increasing number of big-ticket infra development projects across the country.

What value propositions do your backhoe loaders, mini excavators, and compactors bring to the end-users in the construction sector?
Our new BLX series of backhoe loaders with 75 hp Escorts engine adheres to the new emission norms. It comes with a more robust structure, a new chassis, and improved features to enhance its performance, while incurring lower cost of operations and faster cycle time. We will be pitching the new backhoe loader in the markets of UP, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand and in Northeast India immediately and will expand to all the markets as we ramp up.
Our multi-utility mini excavators are seeing strong demand, especially in new applications areas such as betel nut farming in southern parts of India, like Kerala, and is also finding usage in states like Maharashtra, West Bengal, and in North India for well digging, basement construction (aided by attachments). Our new BS V compliant 3-11-ton compactors, tandem rollers and soil compactors, are delivering higher productivity with minimal passes, and have been further modified with more user-friendly features and comfort.

Despite the upgraded backhoe loader launch, could their sales be undercut by your mini excavator that is delivering wider applications and has a lower procurement cost?

We do not expect any cannibalization in the sales of our backhoe loaders by the mini excavators which have special applications. Our backhoe loaders have greater mobility for redeployment between job sites and are highly versatile; they can undertake digging, loading, thereby replacing human labour for the job. Since the two products have distinct application areas, we do not see any overlapping in applications either, so there would not be any impact by mini excavators on the backhoe loaders business segment.
How is your mobile cranes segment performing and what growth do you anticipate?
We are highly optimistic about driving sales through our new range of pick and carry cranes that comply with BS V norms. The market for this segment has ranged between 14,000 and 14,500 units annually, and we expect this trend to continue. There is a growing demand for pick-n-carry cranes with higher tonnage capacities on infra project sites as well as industrial applications.
At Escorts Kubota, we are well-positioned to meet this demand with our 12 ton-40 ton cranes. Our products are BSV ready delivering performance at a lower cost to our customers. These cranes are designed and engineered in-house, ensuring superior safety, productivity, operator comfort, and enhanced visibility, allowing operators to work longer hours while benefiting from improved fuel efficiency.

Performance is a key priority for us. Our cranes are engineered with a robust structure to ensure stability during lifting and the ability to handle diverse ground conditions. Reliability is equally important, and we focus on minimizing repairs and maintenance, ensuring that our customers can meet project deadlines without unexpected breakdowns. Additionally, in recent years, we have introduced several safety features, including advanced digital technologies that allow machine owners to monitor operations and receive alerts in the event of operator errors.
We are also expanding the production capacity for both mobile and pick-n-carry cranes by establishing a new facility to support the growing demand. Our expectations for the forecasted demand recovery are also positive for our new emission-compliant rough terrain cranes in the 20-30-40 ton range. These cranes feature improved ergonomics, ‘U’-shaped booms, and safe load indicators integrated with telematics. While the rough terrain crane segment is smaller compared to mobile or pick-n-carry cranes, with relatively limited demand from the rental industry, one of the major demand drivers is the institutional sector, particularly Defense, Power, Steel & Cement.
We believe our wide range of products will play a significant role in driving sales. To further support this, we are focusing on proactive customer service and strengthening our relationships with clients. This will be facilitated through our network of over 85 dealers, who not only handle outright sales but also provide valued services to help retain customers in the long term.
What are your observations of the evolving Indian Construction Equipment industry?
The Indian Construction Equipment industry is currently very buoyant due to the focus on infrastructure development, especially roads. However, during the past eight months, demand has been sluggish. But we are hopeful that the big-ticket infrastructure projects & urbanization will drive demand of equipment, and the fresh round of recovery will be led by pent up demand and by the off take for new project deployments. We expect to see growth in the sales of equipment that will deliver higher productivity, necessary for timely completion of projects.