Quality Assurance is Zoomlion's Forte

"In Zoomlion, quality assurance is a major priority and we never compromise with it. Our philosophy, 'Less Breakdown More Productivity,' makes our products very sustainable. All our products including Cranes, Concrete and Earthmoving Machineries are very efficient in terms of engine power utilization, fuel-efficiency and minimum cost of operation and are finding wider acceptance in the Indian market. We are planning to introduce a new product 'Rough Terrain crane' in the Indian market very shortly," affirms Mr. Owen Yang, Managing Director of Middle East and South Asia Region, Zoomlion in an interview with S.A.Faridi.

How do you view the global construction industry in general and potential of Indian construction sector in particular?
This is really a big question and not easy to answer. But generally speaking, most of the overseas markets for global construction industry are growing up except China in comparison to last year.

Zoomlion has its presence in the Indian market since 2003. How has your business been shaping up in the country since then?

We've gone through 3 stages with different business models in the 11-year history of our marketing development in India. Firstly, we entered into Indian market with local distribution in 2003, when tower crane was almost not known to the Indian construction market. However we had to change our strategy to make direct sales with focus on corporate customers, when our distributors decided to start their own production of the same product in 2009. In order to be more competitive and gain more confidence from the market, we implemented our localization strategy and formed a Joint Venture company with India's leading industrial crane manufacturer M/s. Electromech Material Handling System India Pvt. Ltd. in 2012. With localized staff, production, supply of crane, service and spare parts, we are now ready to cater to any requirement with right product solution and fast response.

The new government in India has initiated multi-pronged strategies in its first budget by focusing on infrastructure especially on port, power, railways and road sectors. How do you see business opportunities in the next two-three years for Zoomlion and what strategies are you adopting to reap maximum benefits?
Well, we are keeping a close eye on the said budget. We will keep optimizing the general use of our equipment so as to match the exact requirement of customers. Meanwhile, we are confident of our R&D capacity and special purpose tower cranes. We did some of the world's most challenging works, so we will still have a focus on core infrastructure projects such as power, refinery, cementation, ports etc.

What are your products which are getting wider acceptance in the country? Are you planning to introduce some new products in India?
India, being one of the fastest growing economies with huge requirement of building infrastructure projects, has wider acceptance & demand of Zoomlion products such as Tower Cranes, Crawler Cranes, Truck Cranes, Concrete Machineries and Earthmoving Machineries, among of which, tower cranes are available from our Indian joint venture, i.e., Electromech Ltd. In recent years, Zoomlion has been a leader in supplying projects with cranes and other specific equipment, catering to needs of major EPC companies such as BHEL, Reliance Industries, L&T and many more corporate as well as retail clients. As far as new products are concerned, yes, we are planning and doing market viability research to ascertain whether it's right time to introduce Rough Terrain crane to this market.

How sustainable are your products in terms of productivity, fuel efficiency, and affordability?
In Zoomlion, quality assurance is major priority and we never compromise with it. Following ISO 9001 and other major quality standards, we use high quality components of international brands in our equipment assuring long life of each part of the machine. Our philosophy, Less breakdown More Productivity, makes our products very sustainable. Our equipment meet the latest international norms of emission and are very efficient in terms of engine power utilization, always reducing consumption of fuel and cost of operation. Our products are at par in terms of quality and price among other major competitors.

In India, equipment are used for longer time and in quite hostile working conditions. Are you doing India specific R&D?
In some countries including India, the working condition is very hostile. To adapt to those tough conditions like hot, humid weather etc., Zoomlion invests a big portion of yearly budget on R&D. Our team has done a detailed research on Indian working conditions and also carried out required modification in Zoomlion machines to make them fit for rough and tough operations, e.g., modifying the cooling system to protect engine in hot weather, enhancing painting procedure to anti-corrode in humid area, which is one of the key reasons why customers chose and are choosing Zoomlion products.

With subsidiaries in over 40 countries, how Zoomlion thinks that Indian market is different from other countries and what is its strategy to capture major share of this market?
Well, India's population rises to 1.2 billion with vibrant economic growth, specifically it has very much potential in urbanization and infrastructure, where we have opportunities. Secondly, price plays more important role than other factors in this market. To capture a major market share we need the most suitable solution rather than the best one, so we will be more market oriented in our strategy.

Do you have any investment plan or looking for further JV and marketing tie-ups in the country?
Yes we do, we will invest more in our phase II of the JV plant.