Mr. Vijay Sharma, Executive Director, Terex Equipment
What is the market outlook for the CE industry in 2017 in view of the government's focus on infrastructure development? How will it impact your company's performance and growth?
In 2017, we are expecting positive growth keeping in view the government's policies for infrastructure development. The Construction Equipment industry is quite dependent on infrastructural projects which improves the cash flow in the economy. Improved cash flow is of vital importance for our product financing. The Ministry of Road and Transport and Highways and National Highways Authority of India plans to take-up 82 projects under the Bharatmala project, which will contribute in infrastructure development as well as boost the economy. Soon the CE industry will witness a brighter future ahead.
The CE industry is maturing from basic to more sophisticated machines. What technical improvisations is your company doing in its backhoes?
At Terex, our team of engineers and designers are focused on delivering productivity gains to our buyers with safety and reliability to its users, as is consistent with our brand attributes in any country across the world. At Terex, new innovations and changes are a continuous process and part of product development. Fuel-efficient Kirloskar engine, reliable and faster hydraulics, lowest owning and operating cost, larger air-conditioned and non air-conditioned cabins with unmatched style and enhanced interiors, are some features which not only comply with key demands of customers like-fuel economy, operator comfort and lower maintenance cost, but also distinguish us from other equipment makers in the industry.
Last year, Terex launched Lonking loaders in India. What modification/up-gradation you have carried out, based on customer feedback, to attune it to Indian jobsite conditions?
When talking about Wheel Loaders, a few parameters come to mind, like strong structural built, and exceptional load carrying capacity with ability of loading and unloading material continuously. Terex Wheel Loaders are designed keeping in view low life cycle cost, fitted with fuel-efficient Cummins engine in CDM 835 payload capacity of 3.5T & Weichai engines in CDM 856 payload capacity of 5T which are available in the market at very competitive rates. Transmission with ZF, ROPS/FOPS cabin makes them best-in-class & offers higher ROI to customers.
Terex was planning to introduce tracked excavators in India. What is the progress in this regard?
We are planning to add excavators for sure in our fleet. Various discussions are on the table to finalize the same. We are quite hopeful to get some concurrence by 2017.
How is the digital revolution helping to control cost and improve efficiency, productivity, and safety of construction equipment?
The digital revolution is helping a lot in improving the efficiency. Features like GPS and Live Links are part of almost every machine now. Anyone can see the machine's productivity by sitting miles away. Even the machine has become more user-friendly and less prone to maintenance.
How do your products rate for energy efficiency?
Terex products meet customer expectations by giving them good results, faster and higher ROI, more productivity with lower maintenance cost, fuel efficiency with smarter hydraulics, fastest digging and loading performance. Equipped with Kirloskar engine, which is the most robust and tested engine in the CE industry, its design offers operator comfort and additional safety features makes the machine highly competitive and more reliable.
How is increasing competition impacting your sales target, and what new initiatives are you taking to increase sales?
To cope up with the challenge of increasing competition and lower economic growth, some initiatives were taken up like enhancing marketing and promotional activities, CSR, launching attractive offers and schemes, good discounts, educating customers about the USP of our machines by organising interactive meets, etc. These efforts will assist in the coming months to meet our sales targets as expected.
Do you plan to strengthen your dealer/vendor base?
We understand very clearly that the business has moved out of urban area to the rural belt. Therefore, we are focusing more on the rural sector by strengthening our presence in these areas. We can expect much better business with more closeness to customers in terms of aftercare and sales solutions.
What do you envision for the year 2020 and what will be your strategy to achieve your goals?
Indian Construction Equipment industry is undergoing a turnaround and a lot more is expected. Economic indicators are showing a positive swing in the economy with Government's initiative on long-awaited steps to develop the country's economic potential. We expect the BHL industry to touch 40,000 units even before 2020. We are seeing this period as one of the best for BHL Industries. Good opportunities are there for small players like us. We are quite dependent on infrastructure/road projects gathering steam and real cash flowing down from large to small contractors. Improved cash flows of contractors are of vital importance for our product financing. The economic policies and initiatives are on the right track, but a lot more substantial work on ground is to follow. Despite the fact that the Indian economy was suffering from low investment in infrastructure and manufacturing in the last few years, we are hopeful that with the new set of policies and initiatives, the scenario will reverse and high growth will be achieved.
NBM&CW December 2016
