How do you view the prospects of earthmoving equipment industry in India in the near future?
As you know, the infrastructure is going to be the mainstay of India's GDP growth in the coming decades. There is a huge gap between the infrastructure currently available and its requirements across the country. Hence it is obvious that the Indian Government will be more focused in the delivery and implementation of various infrastructure projects by adopting a time bound mechanism. As Government is serious about implementation, there is a great potential in the Indian market and we are expecting that it will grow exponentially in the coming years.
Increased spending on urban infrastructure, railways and road construction, ports, power projects, rural housing will increase demand for equipments also and this indicates that earthmoving equipment industry will grow at 20% CAGR till 2015–16.
What are your expected figures for Backhoe Loader & Vibratory Compactor for the current financial year?
Our estimates suggest that the industry for backhoe loader will be around 25,500 and that for Vibratory compactors, it will be around 2400 in the year 2010-11.
Would you like to share with our readers about L&T-CASE's manufacturing facilities and marketing operations?
L&T-CASE is a 50: 50 joint venture company between Larsen & Toubro and CNH Global NV, has its manufacturing facility at Pithampur near Indore in Madhya Pradesh. Our state-of-the-art facility incorporates the best international practices of lean manufacturing and single piece flow technology. It has been awarded an ISO 9001: 2000 certification for designing, manufacturing, sales and service of earthmoving & construction machinery and also posses ISO 14000 for environment management systems.
Our company is a market leader in Vibratory Compactors and also a major player in Backhoe Loaders. All our machines are marketed and serviced by our marketing division, headquartered in Mumbai, through a widespread network of 55 dealers, who are equally complimented by L&T-CASE zonal and area offices across the country.
What's the specialty in your products, which makes them the most preferred brand in the market?
We deliver "value for money" products and services in shortest possible time and we are trying our best in meeting the aspirations and satisfaction of our customers.
Our models L&T-CASE 752 and L&T-CASE 1107 are very popular because of their unmatched performance and the lowest owning and operating cost for contractors. L&T 752 – is the highest selling Tandem Vibratory Compactor in India for many years. In the case of Soil compactors, we offer options like Drum drive and PD version required in special soil conditions for better compaction.
Being a customer-oriented company, how does L&T-CASE put its best effort to improve research and development and innovation and how far it is helpful to make you the industry leader?
It is crystal clear that Indian customers are a bit value conscious and there is also a lot of difference the way backhoe loaders are used in the Western world and in India. In India backhoe loaders are normally pressed into service for production jobs and work for a long time spanning up to 10 to 20 hours per day, in the west, on the other hand, they are used as utility equipment. So, when we developed the new model, we focused on fuel savings – which in turn increases the value for Indian customers. The average number of working hours per annum that a backhoe loader works in India is about 2500 hours as compared to 700 hours in developed countries. In view of this, we have redesigned our backhoe loader which makes it one of the lowest fuel consuming machines for both backhoe and loader operations (Fuel consumed per cubic meter production). In addition, we also used best components to makes the machine stronger, sturdier and more reliable.
Would you like to dwell on your after sales support system – especially on your service & parts support?
As you know that we strongly believe in our motto, which states "In Service Lies Success." As told earlier, we have 55 dealers and every dealer has been provided with a dedicated and well trained service team. These engineers respond to customer calls and attend to the problem at the earliest. Every dealer is fully supported by L&T-CASE service professionals who monitor and guide them. As regards to the parts support, all the critical and essential spare parts are available with our dealers' outlets. The dealers are directly connected with our portal and they can order online. The ordered parts components are sent to them the same day.
What about your training operations, how are you imparting training for these machines?
We give more emphasis on training the operators and keeping the technicians update. The perceived value will never be realized if these equipment are not operated and maintained properly. It is manufacturer's responsibility to train the field and operating people for effective operation and proper maintenance. Our training department conducts special program through the year, which is being attended by many people handling our machines. Apart from this, we also conduct special program based as and when requested by our customers. Moreover, we strongly feel that "customer's success is our own achievement."
