Subir Kumar Chowdhury, MD & CEO - JCB India
The significant financial outlay announced by the Government in the union budgets will boost demand in the CE Industry.
Largely steered by the implementation of infrastructure projects, the year 2018 was a record year for the Earthmoving and Construction equipment industry. However, 2019 is seeing a demand compression due to a variety of reasons. The recent times have witnessed an overall economic slowdown, which has been directly affecting the construction equipment sector. Further, 2019 being an election year, has contributed to the overall stress. The liquidity related challenges around NBFCs have adversely impacted the industry.
Despite the slowdown, there is still a thrust from the Government for creating infrastructure in India, including large-scale projects and big ventures of national importance. Roads & Highways will continue to be a key growth driver for the CE Industry and critical to fulfilling the $5 trillion economy dream of India. The increased focus of the Government towards rural economy will also be one of the major contributors in the foreseeable future, with rural roads development projects being in the forefront. Urban rejuvenation is another area that can significantly create demand. Apart from these, Railways and Water Conservation also have the potential to become significant growth drivers.
JCB today manufactures over 60 different products in eight different categories.
JCB India has remained committed to the infrastructural growth and development of the country. In its four decades of successful operations in India, the company has grown to become a Full-Range Construction Infrastructure Equipment Partner offering indigenous, innovative and versatile solutions of global quality.
JCB today manufactures over 60 different products in eight different categories which include Backhoe Loaders, Excavators, Compactors, Telehandlers, Tracked Excavators, Wheeled Loaders, Skid Steer Loaders, Mini Excavators and Generators. All these products have been designed and engineered to cater to the changing needs and increasing demand across different segments.
The rapid adoption of digital technologies has been ushering in a new era of innovation in the Indian construction landscape.
Big-ticket infrastructure projects not only demand the best quality output but also work on tight timelines thus, creating a need for specialised, intelligent and technologically advanced construction equipment. Integration of digital technologies is not only enhancing operational efficiency but also providing important data that can be examined after handover to become a part of operational management.
Properly trained AI can categorize data faster than a human operator, reducing the time needed to get the clearest picture of issues on a job site. The technology is hence slashing the overall road construction time.
With Livelink, a well-connected product support is offered to customers to minimise the downtime and maximise productivity.
JCB India provides an unmatched after-sales service to its customers through 700 outlets and over 60 dealers. Since these machines work in far flung areas, it is imperative that a well-connected product support is offered to customers to minimise the downtime and maximise productivity.
JCB introduced LiveLink - an advanced telematics technology as a key element of product support. LiveLink benefits customers in better fleet management through remote monitoring and management of the machines. It transmits information on machine’s health including Service, Operations and Security of the machine to the users and dealers and to JCB. For real-time monitoring, we have a state-of-the-art LiveLink command centre at our Ballabgarh (Delhi-NCR) facility.
Our dealerships have also set up similar Livelink command centres to ensure that real-time support is provided to the customers as they can now plan for service schedules and also engage with users and customers in preventive maintenance. Till date, over 1,25,000. LiveLink enabled machines are working across the country. The JCB LiveLink technology has been a game-changer in the Earthmoving and Construction Equipment industry.
We believe that the new emission standards will enable the percolation of world-class technology and advancement in the products and components.
Sustainability is at the core of our business. We are in full support of the upcoming fuel emission norms and are well-prepared to welcome this change, which will lead to better technology and sustainability in the long run.
We believe the new standards will enable the percolation of world-class technology and advancement in the products/component thus, bringing us at par with advanced markets such as USA and Europe. It will also contribute in the enhancement of the overall value chain of the product in terms of development, research and upgraded technology in the supply chain.
To ensure seamless transition from BS (CEV) III to BS (CEV) 1V Emission Standards for wheeled construction equipment, JCB is investing in technology, service support network, skilling and training of its people.
JCB is offering the widest range of Backhoe Loaders in India in 5 different variants.
Looking at the Backhoe segment, JCB has been a pioneer in this concept which it introduced almost four decades ago. Till date, the machine continues to find great use at almost every construction site, in both urban and rural India. Over the years, the product has gone through various stages of development and JCB has continually invested in it to ensure that customers get the most technologically advanced machines.
Presently, we are offering the widest range of Backhoe Loaders in India in 5 different variants – the 2DX, 3DX, 3DX Xtra, 3DX Super, 4DX. This range has been developed to suit different user segments for different applications. We see this multipurpose machine being used in almost every construction site in sectors ranging from Roads and Highways, Railways, Irrigation, Rural Roads, and Housing, to General Construction, and Maintenance. Also, with the recent boom in affordable housing, construction and infrastructure projects, as well as development projects driven by Gram Panchayats and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana projects; there has been a rise in demand for Backhoe Loaders and this is expected to sustain for some time.
With infrastructure being developed in many constricted urban areas, the Compact Excavator is finding great utility.
The Backhoe Loader and the Mini Excavator are two different segments of the CE industry and are used in different applications. The Backhoe Loader is a multi-functional, versatile equipment used in various general-purpose applications while the Mini Excavator is a niche segment and used for different applications such as Urban Development projects.
The concept of Mini Excavators is gaining acceptance as customers are now seeing the value in the machine, especially in applications which require compact products.
At present, JCB India offers the 3T and 5T Mini Excavators, which are manufactured at our JCB Jaipur facility. The market has shown a favourable response to this machine.
JCB works with financing institutions to give the best deals to customers, especially during Excon.
For customers’ seamless buying experience, JCB has tie ups with NBFCs as well as banks to ensure a flexible mode of payments. JCB actively works with these institutions to offer the best deals to customers, especially during Excon.
NBM&CW December 2019
