LiuGong India – Working Towards Cleaner Biosphere

Our efforts have always been to make most fuel-efficient machines for our customers which also mean our machines are environment-friendly. Liugong is the only company in India which manufactures 5 ton capacity wheel loader with a BSIII compliant engine. High fuel efficiency and low maintenance cost of these engines are the two parameters which make Liugong India stand apart from competitors along with giving better return in investment to customers, says Mr. Sunil Sapru, President, LiuGong India, in an interview with S.K.Khanna.

What has been the impact of LiuGong manufacturing facility in India on its business over the years and how has it enhanced the contribution of LiuGong India to LiuGong global business?
Liugong regularly invests in upgrading its products and brings in technology to help in building the nation's infrastructure. However, to meet the shift towards specialized equipment, Liugong put in place a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Indore that manufactures Wheel loaders, motor graders and compactors. During this period, we have gained a good understanding of the market conditions, safety and varied customer needs. A dedicated team of employees, dealers and availability of high quality supply chain has resulted in the seamless expansion. The construction industry, although showing moderation now, is poised to grow at a healthy rate in coming years. We are quite optimistic in years to come that Indian growth story will continue. With Liugong's manufacturing facility, we are gearing up to meet the demand for the construction equipment in the coming years. The expanded facility will also assist Liugong India in catering to the requirement of neighboring countries.

How are LiuGong's manufacturing facilities integrated and complimented by its R&D and Training Centre and what is the focus of R&D Centre to address fuel efficiency, eco-friendly imperatives of the users? A word about various training programmes being conducted at the Training Centre to impart much needed skill development attributes?
We as an environment-friendly company have understood the need for cleaner biosphere. A combination of several factors makes Liugong India one of the most prominent players in the market. The company began integrating the market by offering different models of Wheel loaders, Excavators and Motor Graders in India based on their applications and bring in more value to business. The fact is that the arrival of competition marks a diversification of market. Our vision has always been to bring in all resources, study the market applications and provide the value added services to the industry and hence placed R&D right over here in India to set synergized with the global market. Our efforts have always been to make most fuel-efficient machines for our customers which also mean our machines are environment-friendly. Liugong is the only company in India which manufactures 5 ton capacity wheel loader with a BSIII compliant engine. High fuel efficiency and low maintenance cost of these engines are two parameters which make Liugong India to stand apart from competitors along with giving better return in investment to customers. Being the No.1 wheel loaders manufacturer, we have developed "State-of-the-Art" product line with various attachments sufficing multiple application, therefore enhancing the efficiency.

A word about your leasing and financing facilities to the buyers of your products so as to neutralize high interest rates and financial pressure on the equipment owners.
As everyone is concerned about the current slowdown in the mining/infrastructure sector due to government ban and restricted liquidity for equipment purchase on account of high interest rates but to neutralize the impact, we are looking for various options to make the equipment affordable for customers through renting and leasing out of equipment backed by efficient customer service support." To make our equipment affordable & project viable, we have cooperated with major financing companies for longer gestation periods and also offer operation and maintenance contracts, fleet management contracts, maintenance and repair contracts besides undertaking turn key projects supported by our entire products line. The initiatives will neutralize the ongoing impact of high interest rates and pressure on margins faced by equipment owners in India at par with their global counterparts.

Are the current blips in CE market in India still transitory-as there are fair chances of positive potential in the long run? What is LiuGong's assessment that how the CE market in India is expected to unfold itself, given government focus on infrastructure development?
The sentiments are currently not very positive adversely impacting infrastructure sector across segments; however we can see a quick return of growth as our government is taking concrete measures to encourage it. But Liugong India dubbed the prevailing scenario a short lived global cyclic phenomena and that the Indian economy will soon bounce back on its growth trajectory making the projections of rating agencies and economists beating the dust. Although, it is true that the investment sentiments are down but given the huge infra deficit and recent funding infusions in the road sector and various initiatives of the government to boost investment are set to spur growth thereby bringing the Indian infrastructure sector back to its pristine growth glory. Liugong always ensures that all its efforts/initiatives are customers centric and aims at providing the best in class services to them in every possible way. We are going to invest in our world class manufacturing plants at Pithampur, Indore apart from investing in up-skilling our people to ensure that we will keep maintaining our leadership position in the market.

What are the company's plans to participate in the industry's mega bC India show in Mumbai with the new products and services expected to be unveiled? How would this mega event benefit the company to showcase its technical fundamentals?
We are quite enthusiastic about our participation at such a prestigious platform like bC India 2013 which is the largest construction equipment, technology and services exhibition. It is a great opportunity for us to showcase our products portfolio and also a great way to showcase India's potential in manufacturing world class construction equipment. We sincerely hope that the visitors to our booth will get an incredible experience beyond their expectations.

The mega event does not only bring global market leaders of the industry together but also offers an extensive range of construction equipment products and services with special focus on construction equipment market in India representing earthmoving equipment, mining, production of building materials, components, and services thus helping us to showcase our technical fundamentals to our customers. Buyers in the market place are being seen as far less sensitive to the price factor as was the case in the past. They are gradually becoming more value addition conscious demanding better technical attributes and assured comprehensive back up technical support for the products and services acquired.