Propel Industries: V. Senthilkumar, Managing Director
The market growth of crushers and screens is because of the incorporation of technology in the products.
Propel products are upgraded constantly by making the best use of technology; the reason why they deliver higher productivity and energy efficiency. Our focus is equally on making our machines rugged, strong, and operator-friendly, resulting in longer service cycles. We are using telematics for better maintenance of our products.
We have more than 150 products to our credit and the number is rising steadily. Our track plants are operated with electric power rather than hydraulic means, which has been well received by the customers.
The R&D department of Propel Industries is approved by the Department of Scientific and Research (DISR), Government of India. Staying true to our tagline - Engineering Excellence, we have recently commissioned a R&D lab attached to it. We are present in 14 countries and plan to extend our presence in many more.
Propel has several new products in the pipeline which will be launched soon.
We are targeting higher output plants for FY21-22, and investing in R&D to increase their performance. The soon-to-be-launched Prowash V2.0 will have four models: PW 100, PW150, PW 200, and PW 250. We are introducing Rinser screen to improve the sand washing efficiency in our Vibrating Screen models MVS 1540 2 Deck, MVS 1845 4 Deck, MVS 2060 3 Deck, and MVS 2060 4 Deck.
We will be introducing vertical shaft impactor in models AVVI 55, AVVI 75, and AVVI 100 to handle wet feed materials. This ensures dust suppression at the output, thereby safeguarding the environment against air pollution.
We have recently launched concrete batching plants. The multiple batching solutions come with twin-shaft or planetary mixers. Our Pro-Series of batching plants is already a hit with customers.
Industry 4.0 is about making the best use of digital solutions.
The last 15 months has been difficult for everyone. While some industry players are managing to wade through the crisis, others are yet to recover. The behaviour of the customer has changed. There is notable decline in discretionary spending, and preference for trusted brands is on the rise. Technology is ruling the roost, and everyone has to embrace it and stay inter-connected through digital means.
Many industry players are implementing a control-tower, and have decided to increase their end-to-end supply chain transparency. Many have taken to automation to handle labour shortage. We are also digitalizing and automating, and pooling all our resources to deliver products and service to customers in lightning speed. In fact, we have been giving round-the-clock service and spares support to our customers during the lockdown and the unlock phases.
I see a bright road ahead for the crushing sector, which is showing signs of recovery in both the domestic and international markets. In India, demand is rising steadily due to the line-up of construction and infrastructure development projects.
Measures taken by RBI to ease pressure on liquidity and maintain congenial financial conditions will benefit developers, contractors, and quarry owners.
For contractors looking for options like contract quarrying, leasing, or refurbishment/upgradation of their equipment, I think that it is important to first weigh the present situation on various parameters.
Many first-time buyers prefer used equipment because it is an effective way to gauge the market, plus it requires lesser capital and poses lesser risks as compared to buying new equipment. Sometimes, even established rental companies opt for used equipment. So, there is always a market for used machines – it depends on the customer’s requirement and his finances.
Products manufactured by Propel Industries are financed up to 95% of their cost by financial institutions (even for first buyers) due to their low cost of ownership and assured RoI.
In these troubled times, we have learnt to make the best use of available resources and serve our customers better.
Our resolve to face adversities has only been strengthened in the last 15 months that we have been fighting the pandemic. I have always been advocating resilience and my team is now conditioned to this kind of thinking. When the pandemic hit us, within a short span of time we charted out a plan for the future.
In June 2020, we were able to ship a track machine to Uganda just by connecting to the port’s logistics crew and our customer team through video conferencing. The entire process of loading, transporting, unloading, and commissioning happened without Propel staff being present physically. We have been working around challenges and this preparedness is helping us to stay focused.
NBM&CW July 2021
