Mahindra Truck & Bus Division Offers Not Only Customized Products but also Services
What is the present range of tipper trucks being offered in terms of capacity, payload, and body variants for varied sizes of quarry operations in India?
Mahindra Truck and Bus Division offers a wide range of MAV Tippers. Apart from 25T Tipper & 31T 8x2 Haulage Tipper, we also offer Tip Trailer on demand. Sensing customer need from quarry operations, we were the first to introduce several advancements in the industry starting with 20 Cum Box Body which is an ideal off-road transportation of crushed stone from quarry. TORRO 25 with 16 Cum Rock Body is another variant ideal for quarry operations. TORRO 31 Haulage tipper again is an ideal product for long distance transport of voluminous goods. Our endeavor has always been to offer our customers with most optimum body variants so that his cost per ton is the lowest. With sustained level of low activity in construction sector, every efforts towards reducing cost per ton greatly enhance profitability.
What are the engineering attributes of your tipper trucks for faster cycles, both for shorter as well as longer leads, and extended performance to suit the requirements of large, medium, and smaller quarry operations?
Tippers are mostly off-road vehicles. Pulling power coupled with reliability of performance are key parameters. We offer a 7.2-Ltr engine which gives the most optimum combination of pulling power, reliability, & fuel efficiency. The key attribute has been peak torque at low rpm, which greatly helps in pulling power at low speed. Wide range of aggregates 6-speed & 9-speed gear boxes coupled with different types of suspensions, helps us to offer readymade solutions to suit different operations of large, medium, & small quarry operations. Keeping in mind tough operating conditions, we offer 8.5-mm thick straight chassis with suitable reinforcement in different models. Every aggregate has been conceptualized with Tipper operations in mind.
Has there any new launches or advancements been carried in your tipper trucks, precisely in the engines, to make them more suitable for quarry operations?
The key advantage offered in our tipper is peak torque at low rpm. This concept has been introduced from start. As part of regular R&D based on customer voice, we believe in taking up modifications to suit the operating conditions. Shortly, we shall be introducing electronic engines which have been fine-tuned for both off-road and long distance on-road transportation.
Generally, quarry sites have poor underfoot conditions, which slow down production and disrupt job deadlines. How are your tipper trucks positioned to provide the required tractive effort in muddy, sloppy, and rough terrain conditions?
Tractive efforts are the outcome of several factors acting in tandem. Quarry operations vary from location to location. In order to meet the varying demands of different locations, our driveline has been designed to offer the most optimum performance. Our engine offers peak torque of 920 Nm @ 1250 rpm, the highest in category. This has been tuned with sturdy & reliable 9-speed gear box so that torque at wheels (tractive effort) is always sufficient to pull load across rough operating conditions.
Short turning circles are useful in confined loading and dumping areas and on tightly turning haul roads, not unnatural in India. How are your tippers engineered to cater to the same?
Quarry operations call for shorter wheel base & overall length. This, in turn, helps in ease of maneuverability offering an optimum balance while tipping. Our wheel base has been designed in such a way that we can offer modularity across platform while offering customer the requisite space to do local modifications to suit the operations.
With volatility in demand of aggregates, large- and medium-sized quarries in India are setting up multiple crushing trains for varied sizes of aggregates and sand, featuring flexibility in plant operations. How are your tipper trucks positioned to address the flexibility requirements, notably to transport manufactured sand, and allied wet materials through various body variants?
Sensing the need of the customers and different operating conditions, we have product configuration which suit different operations. We have m Power 170 HP with a torque of 820 Nm which offers unique combination of pulling power and fuel-efficiency. This platform offers different combinations which suit the long distance transportation of aggregates. For tougher applications, we also offer m Power 202 HP with a torque of 920 Nm. This would be ideal wet sand and deep gradients operations. All our sales team is well- positioned to offer the customer the details of performance of each variant & guide them on the most suitable product to suit the operations.
What is the nature of onsite support you provide at quarry sites? Do you have truck and fleet management systems in place?
Tippers operate mostly in off-road conditions which require a 24-hour support for higher uptime. We have been offering AMC package along with our tippers. This package is customized to suit customer operations. Apart from this, we also guide on establishing the most optimum performance parameters in the given terrain. This acts as a benchmark for his future operations. Apart from AMC package, we also offer adequate resource support from company & dealership for initial performance & maintenance support. We are in process of offering a comprehensive fleet management solution.
NBM&CW November 2015
