Gujarat Apollo Growing Stronger and Stronger
Gujarat Apollo Growing Stronger and Stronger
Given the thrust on roads by the government, India is key market for Apollo and so is the export market. Our products are eco–friendly and fuel efficient. Our action plan for the future would focus on continuous thrust on R&D, technology and new talent to deliver value to our customers. Soon we shall be setting up compaction equipment facility at an estimated investment of Rs 300 million, says Mr. Asit A. Patel, Managing Director, Gujarat Apollo Industries Ltd, in an Interview with S.A.Faridi.

Gujarat Apollo Industries, the flagship company of the Apollo Group, is one of the best homegrown companies in the construction equipment sector in India offering innovative products and servicesto the infrastructure sector for over three decades. What has gone into its making imparting it an enviable status it enjoys today within the country and outside?
Setting modesty aside for a moment, I would attribute our success to our vision and commitment to offer the customer a product that he needs rather than what we have. Today, there has been a lot of talk on this front but Apollo acted on this even in the 80’s. We went in for technology at a time when asphalt plants and paver inishers were manufactured as a cottage industry. We invested in infrastructure, quality manpower and technology from abroad, knowing full well that it will take years to reap the gains. And our commitment to our customers is total. This is evident in each activity of Apollo. We work with the philosophy that any activity that does not add value to the customer is a waste. We do not talk-but we act. That is why we are the supplier of choice to the customers in India and abroad.

What are its important business areas, location of its manufacturing facilities in the country, its important product line and also a word about its technical collaboration arrangements with overseas majorsto deliver quality products and services?
India, given the thrust on roads by the government, is a key market for Apollo. But we realized that domestic market alone cannot sustain our growth plans in the long run and focused on exports. Today, Algeria, Australia, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Africa are our key export markets.

Apollo group has four manufacturing facilities in Mehsana District in Gujarat with the main factory of Gujarat Apollo located at Ditasan, 12 km ahead of Mehsana on the Ahmedabad-Mehsana highway. Although, we have a pan India presence with offices in all the important locations in India for sales and post sales customer care.

All our current products, mainly asphalt plants & paver finishers–are inherited from various former overseas technical collaborations and joint ventures we had in past. Over the period using our internal R&D efforts, the basic machines were transformed and accommodated modern components which are sophisticated, efficient and environmentally friendly.

We have derived the complete value chain product strategy which we call Rock to Roll. i.e. Crushing–Mixing–Paving & Compaction !!

With the latest addition of Crushers and mobile crushing plants from KDS Machinebau (the successor of world renowned Böhringer GmBH) we intend to establish our presence in the rock (aggregate) production and other mineral processing applications. We already offer good quality of continuous and batch mixing asphalt plants which are now undergoing transformation to make them world class. We are near completion and soon starting our new setup for compaction equipment at an investment of Rs 300 Millions. Initially, we will offer 4T and 9T tandem and 15T soil compactors and later add about 5 models to be credible supplier in this space. This coupled with widely popular paver finishers are positioned to be great value for our customers.

Gujarat Apollo is known for bringing about a revolution in India’s construction equipment stream by adding advanced technologies in road construction segment. Please tell us a few significant hi-tech additions made in Asphalt Plants, Pavers Finishers, Compaction Equipment, Crushing & Screening Machines and allied products which go a long way to ensure not only high products and reliability but are also compatible with national objectives of eco-friendliness, material and energy conservation imperatives.
Gujarat Apollo Growing Stronger and Stronger
We offer Mobile Crushing plants which can travel into the quarry and carry out the crushing in the mine. This reduces boulder handling and transportation, saving precious fuel. The large impact crushers used in secondary crushing eliminates the need for tertiary crushing, reducing the capital and operation costs for the customer. Our hi-tech crushing plants produce consistent cubicle products which is the need of the hour in the road construction industry.

All our products are eco–friendly. Our asphalt plants conform to the stringent emission norms of Europe. Our paver finishers are fitted with Bharat–II norm engines.

From day 1, our focus has been on offering energy efficient products. Today, we offer the best fuel efficiency in the industry. R & D efforts continue to make this even better.

We understand that to offer more comprehensive products and services to the infrastructure sector, the company is set to launch new subsidiaries—Apollo Earthmoving and Apollo Construction Equipment with a huge Investments. What new products are expected to roll in from the new subsidiaries and when will they be in market to compliment and supplement the existing offerings for the benefit of user?
Apollo Earth Movers Limited and Apollo Construction Equipment Private Limited are our existing facilities. We have, over the years, developed “specialist” companies for major product lines. We have always taken pride of the fact that we offer the lowest lead time for deliveries in the industry. Given the increase in demand levels, there is a need to make investments in infrastructure to increase production levels. Yes, we have invested in expansion, not just in these two companies. We have added capacities to our main facility in Ditasan as well. The investments are done with a three fold objective:
  • To increase the production capacity of our existing products
  • To roll out new products like crushing plants and compaction equipment
  • To be the “one stop shop’ for the road construction industry.
What is the market share within the country and abroad, the company commands today and its market programme to garner a greater share in the next three-four years. What kind of competition the company foresees in the future to attain higher growth?
Gujarat Apollo Growing Stronger and Stronger
The market shares differ from product to product. In the up end Batch Type Asphalt Plants and Sensor paver finishers of 5.5 M product category, we have over 45% share of the market. In the Drum typeasphalt plants it is 40%, mechanical paver finishers it is around 60%.

The action plan to garner a higher share of the market is:
  • Continued thrust on R&D and technology to offer value for money products
Quicker deliveries
  • High up time of equipment
  • Stay close to the customer-have offices in tier-2 cities
India has caught attention of almost all global majors and competition is likely to get intensified going forward. We see competition from large MNCs as well as domestic players who have grown over the years and have established regional presence.

Indigenisation of new technologies and processes require prime focus on R&D and regular upgrading of manpower expertise including induction of new talent. What priority is assigned to these in the company to facilitate this at the workplace for optimum utilization in Indian conditions?
I have talked at length about Apollo’s focus on R&D. Upgradation of the expertise of the existing man power and induction of new talent with cross industry exposure, is an ongoing process. The Executive Director of the company is directly involved in this activity.

What are important technical services including system in place in the company to promote effective customization and back to back customer support?
Most of our products are very much standard offerings. We maintain close contact with the customer and internally track equipment ownership for initial 4 to 5 years. We support customers for off-season factory refurbishment, finding rental opportunities for them if their equipment is idle and also find them customers in case they want to dispose. All of these efforts are so far not intended for the revenue generation. Instead, we take pride in customer.
Bauer Engineering India - Offering Global Standard Modern Solutions & Expertise in Deep Foundation Projects
As a premium foundation equipment manufacturer and foundation specialist, we are offering project owners and contractors high-tech equipment and leveraging our global standard technical expertise in the field of deep foundation construction to

Read more ...

Kobelco: Growing the Indian Market
Kobelco is bringing significant changes to the Indian market and shaping the mindset of buyers. It is delivering exceptional value to customers in terms of durability and longevity of its machines, and through constant efforts supported by R&D to enhance

Read more ...

CriticaLog: Offering Technology-Powered Solutions & Services
In-house developed ERP, hubs, resources, innovative solutions including drones, and an end-to-end supply chain, are mitigating the challenges in handling critical and sensitive products of various industries, informs Sujoy Guha, CEO, CriticaLog India

Read more ...

CJ Darcl Logistics - Forward-Thinking Approach Driving Success
Embracing a phygitally-driven marketing approach, CJ Darcl Logistics seamlessly integrates physical and digital channels, to establish a unified and strong brand presence. The company is also actively embracing eco-friendly initiatives and investing in green

Read more ...

Trimurti Staying Ahead of the Curve
By closely monitoring market trends, focusing on sustainability, and pursuing product and market expansion, providing a range of tailored solutions to meet diverse application across construction and real estate projects, Trimurti is well-equipped to meet

Read more ...

Revolutionizing High-Rise Construction With Precast Concrete Technology
Precast concrete, with its myriad benefits, is revolutionizing the way tall buildings are erected. Suhas Mohol, Managing Director, StruEngineers India, (a 100% subsidiary of StruSoft AB, Sweden) discusses the applications, advantages, and the growing

Read more ...

Welded Wire Mesh: A Growing Industry
Weldmesh Manufacturer’s Association has been helping the welded wire mesh industry of India to grow in terms of volumes, quality, and consistency, while expanding its application areas, and cutting down production cost. Zakir Ahmed, Secretary, WMA

Read more ...

Ashoka Buildcon - Satish Parakh
The Sustainable Building and Construction Initiative (SBCI) of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) reported that 30-40% of global energy demand is from the construction industry, which is expected to grow at an average rate of 1.5 to 3.4%

Read more ...

Patel Engineering - Kavita Shirvaikar
Industry associations should bring together construction companies, professionals, and stakeholders to form working groups and share knowledge on emission measurement and reduction initiatives. Engaging with government bodies responsible for climate

Read more ...

Volvo CE India - Dimitrov Krishnan
We are encouraged by the Government’s ambition to achieve net-zero emissions and are committed to support the same through our sustainability ambition. We have established a strategy with targets and aspirations in three key areas where we can

Read more ...

GR Infraprojects - Atasi Das
The major components that produce the oxides of carbon in the construction industry are cement and bitumen. For infrastructure development, usage of cement is inevitable, be it buildings, metro rails, tunnels, airports, highways, or any under or above

Read more ...

Tata Hitachi - Sandeep Singh
With a target of Net Zero emissions by 2070 taken by the Government of India, reducing the use of fossil fuels in CE machinery is both a major challenge and an opportunity. Tata Hitachi has identified various projects to be taken up for electrification of different

Read more ...

Beca - Sujatha Manoj
The Construction Industry, as one of the largest contributors of global carbon emissions, can also play a significant role in reducing the emissions. Intelligent sourcing of materials, use of alternate and less carbon emitting materials in construction, or

Read more ...

Master Builders Solutions - Nilotpol KAR
India is the second largest cement producer and consumer in the world after China. The cement industry is conducting extensive research to reduce CO2 emissions. Only conventional technical progress such as thermal efficiency, fuel switching, and

Read more ...

Wirtgen India - Ramesh Palagiri
Sustainable solutions and technologies are firmly anchored in all corporate processes of the Wirtgen Group. The future of road construction must be made smarter and safer and, above all, must maintain a consistent focus on sustainability. This is the

Read more ...

Ammann India - Anand Sundaresan
Ammann is committed to all environmentally friendly initiatives. The Ammann Group has already created a road map for the ESG initiatives, not only in the product manufactured by us but also in all its manufacturing facilities to be environmentally friendly

Read more ...

DB RRTS Operations India - Kumar Keshav
India has set ambitious target to achieve net-zero by 2070. Around 40% of the carbon footprint is generated by construction and buildings together due to various processes like lighting, cooling, and heating of building materials. In the journey to net-zero

Read more ...

ACE - Sorab Agarwal
Reducing emissions and saving the environment is the way forward and the whole world is adopting these measures at a good pace. Going forward, artificial intelligence will also have a major role in the way machines are built and operated; they will incorporate

Read more ...

Puzzolana - Abhijeet Pai
All our plants are designed for automation to ensure effective operation and to reduce power consumption & carbon emission. We are aligned with India’s goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 and are approaching the concept of decarbonization

Read more ...

Egis - Sandeep Gulati
The construction industry faces several issues when transitioning to low-carbon construction methods. The contractors may lack awareness and understanding of low-carbon construction methods, technologies, and best practices, which can hinder

Read more ...