Mr. Ramesh Palagiri, MD, Wirtgen India.
Wirtgen India: “The slip form paving equipment industry is destined to witness a bright future in India due to the 100 new Concrete Road projects being announced by the government. Wirtgen sold close to 100 slipform pavers in 2016, and we look forward to more promising market growth in the coming years,” says Mr. Ramesh Palagiri, MD, Wirtgen India.
These days, the roads sector appears to be the brightest star in infra development; do you think enough projects have been awarded so far to bring sustainability in the CE sector?
The last year has been very good due to the large number of Road Projects awarded by the Government. Around 3,000 kms of projects were awarded in 2014-15 and for 2015-16, the target was 5,000 kms.
Due to the large number of new road projects being rolled out, there is a sudden demand for construction and road building equipment. Demand for greenfield projects is also increasing and expansion from 2 to 4 laning and 4 to 6 laning is being taken up. This will, in turn, boost demand for Road Construction as well as for Road Rehabilitation equipment.
How do you sum-up 2016 for your company, and in which product segment did you see maximum growth?
Due to 100 new Concrete Road projects announced by Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Roads and Highways, the slipform paving equipment industry is destined to witness a bright future in India. Currently, due to the many road projects being awarded in Concrete segment, Wirtgen Slipform Pavers are majorly in demand. We sold close to 100 slipform pavers in 2016.
Wirtgen offers the complete range of concrete paving equipment for both inset paving of roads and also offset paving like crash barrier, drain etc.
Though, this year witnessed growth in the CE sector still there is stiff competition in the market. What steps are you taking to strengthen your position?
The Wirtgen Group has been consistently trying to develop products which offer better efficiency in terms of fuel consumption. This helps in sustainable development and less carbon emissions. Our machines contribute towards reduction of use of aggregates and also in the reuse of existing bitumen with our Cold Milling and Cold Recycling technologies.
The average age of any of the Wirtgen Group products in the market is around 2 years, which means that most of our products are from the new generation, and in most cases, the Wirtgen Group products are atleast a generation ahead of competition.
The Wirtgen Group has been consistently trying to develop products which offer better quality and fuel-efficiency. Our products are at least a generation ahead of Competition. We are making the necessary investment on our aftermarket and sales support to meet our motto – Close to Our Customers.
Wirtgen Cold Milling machines, Wirtgen Soil Stabilisers, Cold Recyclers, Surface Miners, the new Dash 3 series of Vogele Pavers, and the EVO series of Kleemann crushing and screening plants are all New Generation products which are technically ahead of competition.
We are now making the necessary investments on our after-market and sales support to meet our motto – Close to Our Customers.
Will the company exhibit at bauma ConExpo India 2016?
At Bauma Conexpo 2016, the Wirtgen Group will be exhibiting a representative cross-section of its product portfolio as well as leading technologies of the Wirtgen, Vögele, Hamm and Kleemann brands on an area of 2,400 m2.
Each of the product brands specializes in its own field and focuses on the further development and enhancement of its own technologies. This generates immense innovative power. The trade visitors will be able to experience this themselves at the Wirtgen Group exhibition area, where they will be able to inspect more than 20 exhibits.
From Wirtgen, there will be 4 new products on display : Cold Milling machine W 130 cf in the 1.3 mtr class, two Slipform Pavers SP 64 and SP 94, and the TCM 180.
From the Vogele Range, we are for the first time offering 4 new Pavers for the Indian market – Super 1400 and Super 1403, which are made in India and the Super 1900-3 and Super 2100-3 from Germany which are the latest from the Dash 3 generation of pavers.
NBM&CW December 2016
