ACE takes pride in being a part of Building India’s tomorrow.

Sorab Agarwal, Executive Director, ACE 

How do you see the government’s ‘Make in India’ programme and mission motivating industry to participate in it? How is this helping the construction equipment sector to improve its technological status and competitiveness in the global market?

ACE – Action Construction Equipment Ltd. is the largest Mobile Crane manufacturer in India and World’s largest manufacturer of Pick ‘N’ Carry cranes. In addition to Mobile Cranes, ACE also offers Mobile / Fixed Tower Cranes, Crawler Cranes, Piling Rigs, Truck Mounted Cranes, Lorry Loaders, Backhoe Loaders/Loaders, Vibratory Rollers, Motor Graders, Forklifts, Warehousing Equipment, Tractors & Harvesters and other Construction Equipment. ACE has a consolidated presence in all major Infrastructure, Construction, Heavy Engineering and Industrial Projects across the Country and is now making headways into Earthmoving and Road Machinery segments also. ACE has In-house “R&D” Department (DSIR – GOVT. of INDIA approved) which works continuously towards product upgradation, development of new models and value engineering.  ACE has widest sales and service network operating from 100+ locations.

Foreseeing the government’s strong commitment and stable sentiments in the market, how do you evaluate your company’s growth in the coming years?

Any industrial or Infrastructure activity will drive the demand of Cranes as all the material handling activities are primarily done by cranes, and ACE is the largest Mobile Crane manufacturer in India. Further, our Pick n Carry cranes are the first equipment getting in any particular infra site and the last to move out.

With Govt. determined to initiate infra activity worth Rs. 10 lac Crore in this financial year, not only our crane industry but the entire construction equipment industry has great days ahead.

Infrastructure push by government with increased focus in public private partnership projects & inflow of FDI’s in the construction space has been instrumental in driving demand. The government has outlined several road works, building works and smart city development projects. All these will require construction and earth-moving equipment, which will result in the fast-paced growth of the construction equipment sector in India.

Further, Infra push will be dependent upon accelerating in availability of Finance and Construction companies emerging with stronger balance sheets.

National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) is the key demand driver for the CE industry. Road transport, railways, irrigation, water resources, airports are the key projects covered under the NIP program. It is expected that infrastructure spending by the government will continue to remain robust in the coming years.

What are your views on making India as a global construction equipment manufacturing hub?

ACE takes pride in being a part of Building India’s tomorrow. In previous years despite all the challenges, the industry recorded a modest growth which is a testimony to the growing thrust of the government on infrastructure development duly aided by products that CE companies manufacture to enable the same.  With continued focus on creating a strong pipeline of infrastructure projects, industry is optimistic about the future growth prospects not only in the context of serving the domestic market but also gearing up to serve the global demand. India is well positioned to become a global manufacturing hub in line with government’s vision plan on the backdrop of strong capital outlay for infrastructure projects coupled with schemes like PLI which promotes Make in India and Make for the world.

Infrastructure is the key for growth in a country & India’s Construction sector is considered as the second largest employer and contributor to economic activities in the country.

Construction sectors are improving at very fast pace, there is an emerging requirement of higher capacities & innovations in CE. India construction equipment market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.9% during 2022-2028 & we are optimistic to this. We are working rigorously to play our part in “Lifting India’s growth”.

What are your future strategies at a time when technological disruptions are rapidly defining businesses in the sector?  

Technology is now at centre-stage & its use will not only be providing economically viable solutions for the manufacturers, operators and customers, but also environmentally viable solutions in the future.

The use of technology in machinery provides opportunities to improve the design and production of products using the service feedback. This can reduce considerably, the overall cost of the machinery through its lifespan along with a reduction in material consumption.

The company provides option of Telematics which in turn digitises the equipment. It helps the owners of the machinery to remotely monitor & supervise the various functional parameters of the machine & remain updated of its health & maintaining the same to optimum level for better performance.

At ACE we are already utilizing some of the best technology available worldwide and we constantly work to upgrade and adapt all possible technology to Indian working conditions. Making sure Nothing Beats an ACE!

CE manufacturers are now under pressure to manufacture machines which are not only cost effective, but also comply with the emission norms. What are your views on it?  

Reducing emissions and saving the environment is the way forward and the whole world is adopting the same at a good pace.

As mentioned above, we have introduced India’s First fully electric mobile crane in BAUMA 2023 which will be subsequently followed by other tonnages.  

Apart from the above, we are very much open to the idea of evolving machines based on Hydrogen IC Engines or Fuel Cell technology.  As soon as the operating environment with respect to commercially viable hydrogen becomes conducive, we are very hopeful that the shift towards hydrogen technology would start to happen in the next 2-3 years in our country.

Hits: 27