JEHEL: Promising Times Ahead

According to Akshay Agarwal, MD, Jaypee Engineering & Hydraulic Equipment, India’s material handling sector is very promising, and demand for indigenously designed equipment will be driven by the core sector industries. Sensing the demand, JEHEL started adding technologically advanced products in its portfolio with new tie-ups and chalked out plans & strategies, for the growing Indian market. Excerpts from an interview with Maria R.

What growth prospects do you see for Material Handling equipment in India, and what will be the driving factors?

The Material Handling sector is one of the most promising segments in India’s new economy. Though, it is not as technologically advanced as Europe and America, but demand for indigenously designed material handling equipment is expected to grow in the near future. Despite a cold response after implementation of GST, the sector has the potential to achieve a CAGR of 8 – 10% per annum.

The Material Handling industry mainly caters to cement, iron, steel, power, and infrastructure sectors, and under the current Budget, we expect all core sector manufacturing industries to grow in India. Growth in these sectors will automatically see an increase in demand for products like Hydraulic Truck Unloaded, Pedestal Mounted Rock Breaker System, Hydraulic Grabs, and Truck Mounted Cranes.

What is the history and core competency of JEHEL?

JEHEL was set up in 1996 with the objective of providing customized engineering solutions at competitive rates. Our first product - the Hydraulic Truck Unloader - was made when customers began to look for a faster way to unload trucks, as opposed to manual labor. Our product was well received by the end-users, who then came to us for more engineering solutions. Today, we have 10-12 products in our basket, thanks to customer feedback, demand, and their trust in our manufacturing capabilities.

Our core competency lies in our engineering expertise, robust products, and competitive pricing. Currently, over 600 of our units are operating in the market.

Earlier, international players were not a serious threat to indigenous manufacturers because their prices were very high and equipment financing was not available. But with more and more international companies coming into India and financing opportunities becoming available in plenty, we have had to upgrade our business model. We are now using the best design tools and software, and following the best manufacturing practices, so much so, that we find ourselves competing only with foreign players.

I would say that the core competency of JEHEL lies in its engineering expertise, robust products, and competitive pricing. We have an all-India sales and service network, and over 600 of our equipment are currently operating in the market.

How do you see the market for knuckle-boom telescopic truck-mounted cranes in India and JEHEL’s JV with ASELKON of Turkey?

The market for TMKB cranes for heavy application is at an early stage in India. A lot of people do not know about it, however, with more and more companies focusing on safety, versatility and efficiency in lifting, demand for TMKB cranes is rising. We are getting a good response from the market and have sold 8 machines in the last 7 months. We are now focusing on building awareness and also giving live demonstrations to potential users to witness the machine’s performance.

We have plans to set up a dealer network in India in the next two years, and enter the Bangladesh, Africa and Gulf markets in the next three years

We entered into a JV with ASELKON when we decided to increase our capacity in the Truck Mounted Crane category. JEHEL was designing and manufacturing indigenous cranes upto 22 ton meter only, and supplying to the Defense, Infrastructure companies and to rental agencies. With increasing focus on infra development, we began to survey the technologies available in international markets for cranes at construction sites.

We wanted to have a wide range of cranes with higher lifting capacity, better boom reach and safety features that would be based on technology to make the cranes safer, more efficient and affordable, and which would suit the requirements of Indian industries. The search for an able partner, and subsequent development, led us to the launch of JEKON range of TMKB cranes operating as an Indo-Turkish JV.

We had looked at companies in America, Italy and Japan; but we found that ASELKON’s technology was both sophisticated and affordable, and therefore, the end-products are most suitable for the Indian market.

What are your plans to increase your distribution network and after-market services?

Currently, we have marketing personnel in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata, and our main focus is on creating awareness. We are planning to set up a dealer network in India in the next two years and thereby increase our market reach. We plan to enter Bangladesh, Africa and the Gulf markets in the next three years.