In the export market, we have partnered with local companies to take care of our business

V. G. Sakthikumar

Managing Director

Schwing Stetter India Private Limited

V. G. Sakthikumar, Managing Director, Schwing Stetter India Private Limited, Member of governing council, ICEMA, Chairman of Mechanisation committee, Builders Association of India Schwing Stetter briefs out the roadmap and strategies initiated to become a successful player in the global markets. Excerpts…  

The concept of ‘Make in India’ for the world seems to have caught up with most of the OEMs. What is your take on this? Indian CE industry taken as whole what is the current growth and expected CAGR in exports?

In the construction equipment industry, most of the top global organizations are already present with manufacturing facilities in India. It is a known fact that Indian market expects high quality at affordable prices. This expectation has driven most of the global players including us to manufacture the products and indigenize the components to the maximum extent possible. The Make in India machines are becoming popular because of the competitiveness given the high quality factor.  Concreting and road construction equipment in exports is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.69% until 2023.

Brief us on the scope and potential for your export range of products?

Most of the products we manufacture in India are exported to markets in Asia and Africa after our participation in Bauma in Germany. All the machines are now exported to many more markets which are so far handled by our group’s production facility in Germany and Austria. In detail, one such product and its features are as below.

Stetter self-loading concrete mixer – SLM 4000

Schwing Stetter products are employed wherever concrete is produced and moved. Stetter self-loading concrete mixer is the result of experience gained over decades accompanied by permanent advancement and optimization. Stetter self-loading concrete mixer is an off highway rough terrain machine which can load, mix and deliver concrete on its own and can be operated by one single operator. The machine comes with electronic weigh batching and has a maximum concrete output of 14 m³ / hr. The significant features of Stetter self-loading concrete mixer SLM 4000 are mentioned below:      

• Efficient engine.
• Faster shovel operations.
• Effective hydraulic transmission.
• Wear-resistant mixing drum.
• Electronic weigh batching.
• Ergonomic controls.
• High gradeability which makes tough environment look easy.

Could you brief us on the roadmap and strategies initiated to become a successful player in the global markets? 

Unlike the domestic market where after sales is handled by Schwing Stetter India directly; in the export market, we have partnered with local companies to take care of our business. Our new dealership network in export market is becoming active and helping us to increase our market share in those countries.

Which are the major markets that you focus on and what are the factors contributing to it?

We focus on markets which are growing and have similar expectations like India. For example, the prime movers required in this market should have after sales service support for customer to accept our products. Schwing Stetter India’s major market focus are South Asia, South East Asia and Africa. The key features / USPs that has contributed in strengthening and maintaining our stronghold in the market are listed below:         

• Lowest operating cost.
• Lowest fuel consumption.
• Strong service network.
• Anywhere parts support.
• Largest number of service centre.
• Strong design capability and product innovation.
• World class customer training support.
• Portability, interchangeability, versatility, operating efficiency are standard features across all models.

Apart from high productivity, the key features of all our equipment solely drives on longevity. Our equipment is designed to consume less fuel, operate with low decibel levels, safer to operate, consumes less parts and has a very long service life which makes our equipment, a favorite among our customers. 

Are there separate investment / R&D efforts for global markets?  Could you brief us on the same?

The Schwing group’s R&D division is headquartered in Germany and works very closely with the design departments of group companies Worldwide. Schwing Stetter strives to ensure that all its products meet the highest possible quality standards, and are made available in the most cost efficient manner. Such constant innovation and use of state of the art technology in Schwing Stetter India products also ensures that the projects are completed in the quickest possible time, in the most efficient manner. Cutting the shipping cost is one of the key challenges when we try to export our machineries.               

Do you have a separate product range for the global market?

Most of the products are the same. But in certain markets, we have to consider the connected load of power factor, voltage, etc. and supply the product accordingly with those components. Schwing Stetter is a pioneer in manufacturing equipment for concrete preparation, placement, transportation and recycling. Concrete truck mixer, concrete batching plant, concrete pump, concrete placer boom, shotcreting machine, recycling plant, water chilling plant, self-loading mixer are our well-established products in the market.             

As the global markets are highly competitive, especially in terms of quality of the product and backup support, how have you ensured the same to cut a niche in those markets?

We do not have two different qualities for export and domestic markets but at times, we need to take care of local legal requirements in manufacturing a product. Schwing Stetter India has quality, health, safety and environment certifications from TÜV SÜD South Asia private limited for ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001: 2018 currently. The Quality Engineering Department (QED) works in close co-ordination with the parent company to ensure high degree of quality standards. Training has been continuously provided to QED Engineers at Germany, Austria, Brazil and USA as per the company policy. At present, products and components are exported to group companies in Germany, USA, SEA, SAARC and African markets.     

Fuel efficiency is one major parameter that a customer looks into, given the bearing it has on the design of our green products. Also, concepts such as low lifecycle cost, faster return of investments, cost per cubic meter, all have a positive impact on our products coupled with several innovative service packages. Schwing Stetter’s new operating system gives all the information about pumping hours, running hours, and wear and tear.           

What do you think are the major challenges that you face in the global markets and how do you address these challenges?

Many countries are becoming protectionist in their approach towards manufacturing and trading. The future challenge would be to partially assemble the equipment in the destination countries to take advantage of tax structure.  

How does the company address the logistical/policy-based challenges with reference to the global market? Do you expect any policy reforms or incentive systems from the Government that may boost exports?

The Government keeps incentivizing exports but financing export customers for purchase of equipment and machineries from India will further boost the Make in India exports.

Currently what is the volume/percentage of business from exports and what is the growth you are targeting or expected?

At present, 6 – 7 % of our business depends on exports. We expect it to double in the coming years.     

How do you assess the impact of the Budget 2020 on the CE industry?  Also, tell us on the outlook especially the product range that you deal with?

2020 is a crucial year for the construction equipment industry apart from funding issues for the customers which started from the end of 2018 and is still continuing. Besides, the disruption in fuel norms from BS4 – BS6 will be affecting all the trunk mounted vehicles with highly unpredictable demands. The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has crippled the movement of humans and machineries from China which is a major base for electronics and components supply globally. This is a global problem and we need to recover faster as per our sales plan of 2020.

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