LiuGong's Plans for India on Track

Our project plans are following the growth schedule, notwithstanding the current economic situation. Our factory is located at Pithampur near Indore, MP and will manufacture wheel loaders of 3T and 5T payload capacity, which are our premium products. Subsequently, we will be producing hydraulic excavators and other construction equipment, as per the requirements of our Indian customers. We have already invested over Rs 100 crores and have firm and long-term commitment to our Indian operations for quality and cost-effective machines, says Mr. Li Dongchu, President, LiuGong India Pvt Ltd, in his Interview with S.A. Faridi.

Despite global recession, Asia along with China and India, are going to be the largest construction equipment manufac- turing bases. How can the manufacturing and marketing strategies of both China and India be synergized and complemented to take advantage of emerging markets in regionswhere markets are subdued due to recession?
The manufacturing and marketing strength of both China and India have made LiuGong take a strategic step towards setting up a manufacturing plant in India to cater to it and neighboring countries. We plan to offer cost-effective and quality equipment to reduce project and operational costs.

bauma China 2008 took place under the shadow of global financial crisis, but the participation mood of global construction equipment players was upbeat. LiuGong participation in the bauma China 2008 left its marks as a leader in the construction equipment market place. What has been the outcome of LiuGong participation in termsof exploring new market, transforming it from industry pacesetter to international brands status?
bauma China has reaffirmed LiuGong's, standing as a formidable global construction equipment manufacturer. In the past couple of years, LiuGong’s network has spread over 84 domestic dealers covering all provinces in mainland China, plus 40 overseas dealers covering 6 continents, extending the sales network to more than 80 countries and has a substantial reputation in Europe, US, South America, Middle– east in addotion be South East Asia.

Liugong celebrated its 50thanniversary last year. How over the year, LiuGong has evolved itself from one Product Company to a multi-product company. Where are its manufacturing facilities located and its complete product range which have stride it ahead to a world-class company?
The past 50 years has seen LiuGong growing from the manufacturing of China’s first Wheelloader to a global company that manufactures and sells more than 30,000 construction machines annually, with nine product lines, including Wheel Loaders, Excavators, Motor Graders, Rollers, Pavers, Milling machines, Backhoe Loaders, Skid Steer Loaders, and Forklifts. LiuGong has 13 plants in south west, east and north China. It is constantly expanding its range to compliment and supplement its core products. LiuGong operates a state-level company tech-center and Ph.D workstation with their R&D facilities located at the company headquarters in Tianjin, Anhui, where hundreds of engineers and technicians are devoted to the design and manufacturing techniques of all products ensuring LiuGong remains the leading industry performer in China.

Recently, LiuGong conducted its first International Excavator skill competition. What is the rational behind this innovative move and the final outcome of the contest, the scale of participation andresultant feedback obtained thereof?
LiuGong believes in developing competitive skills, also machine operators play a crucial part in the maintenance, output and life of the equipment. Therefore, in our pursuit of excellence in machine operations the First International Excavator Skills Competition was held in Liuzhou from 12-18 December. The 6 finalists came from LiuGong’s overseas dealer network in India, Iran, Vietnam, and China. The semi-finals were held at the LiuGong Excavator Co. Ltd. from 14-16 December. For the finals, the two operators needed to climb four steps, crawl along two 25m long steel wires, which were suspended 4 meters off the ground, and finally had to crawl down a steep decline. Buddh Singh, player from India was the champion, while Ye Changyu, player for LiuGong was the runner-up. The finals drew a large crowd, including Liuzhou government officials and Senior Managers from LiuGong.

Has the present recession put any impact on LiuGong's current focus on India and investing in new manufacturing facilities as planned? How plans are its progressing so far and by when would its productline be put into Indian industry and market stream?
Our project plans are adhering to the growth schedule, not withstanding the current economic situation. The Indian factory is located at Pithampur near Indore, MP and is spread over an area of 177,000 Sq-m. The first phase will be completed by June 2009. Initially, we will be manufacturing wheel loaders of 3T and 5T Payload capacity which are our premium products, subsequently, we will be producing hydraulic excavators and other construction equipment, as per the requirements of our Indian customers. We have already invested over Rs 100 crores and we have firm and long-term commitment to our Indian operations for quality and cost-effective machines.

LiuGong has set up its presence in India, attracting market attention to choose from its productline. India being a vast market with diversified nature, how the company is going to organize its sales and marketing model and distribution network to facilitate whole-of-the product, accessories, services, including rentalto facilitate company’s rapid growth in its new business?
LiuGong plans to distribute its products in India through a select dealer network. We have already appointed 10 dealers and are in the process of adding a few more in 2009/10, depending on the market requirements. In addition, we have our parts warehouse and logistics centre at Chennai, which also has a service training center. We support our machines through our own service engineers at strategic locations. They also monitor and train the dealer product support team. It is our endeavour to deliver the best products and service to the customer to enable them to complete their projects on time in the most cost-effective manner.