In the last two years, we have focused on critical areas like innovation, capacity building and enhancing our dealership network.
V. G. Sakthikumar Managing Director, Schwing Stetter India What are your products on display this year at Excon? Our process of innovation and bringing new products is a very continuous activity. And this
– V. G. Sakthikumar
Managing Director, Schwing Stetter India
What are your products on display this year at Excon?
Our process of innovation and bringing new products is a very continuous activity. And this time, it is 14 products that we have displayed making use of this opportunity. Last year, we have become an in-house organization, upgrading also from a design company.
So already in 2021, after becoming an R&D organization, we took up the design job from US and Germany for the group companies that were designing the products. Since then we are having a product shop. So soon, we will be bringing new products related to our industry, because we believe in bringing new products is the one of the lifeline which makes organizations survive and make organizations meaningful for the long haul. The 14 new machines are the equipment which is required in specific areas.
What are the features of your products launched?
The first and the most popular product is a 47-meter boom pump which requires a 4-axle truck globally. But in India, since the axle loader requirement is liberal, we have put it on a 3-axle loader. It will be very useful for high-rise construction and also useful for Metro and High-Speed Rail Construction and also for power, refinery and nuclear project construction. So all these things will be really useful because I can just tell you something what happened in the second lockdown, I saw people in television that people were walking back to their native place and they wanted to work from home rather than working in a big city and face uncertainty of their life. In 2020 – 2021, the market size doubled. Again, in 2022 it is going to double. So, we have built our capacity during the same period. We are quite well prepared for giving new models. And people who used to have a trailer pump for laying pipeline now they want a boom pump.
So, 36-meter and above has become the minimum size to start with the native market. So, we introduced 43-meters which are being used in an extensive way in High Speed Train Project in Mumbai – Ahmadabad project. Now, customers are feeling that even something beyond that also is required. The second phase of metro construction’s rail line will become even above the current height. So when you have to reach out to a bigger right, you need flexibility and it is not easily accessible. We recently got an award of recognition for launching a boom pump for firefighting application. Mumbai Fire Brigade uses one of our 55-meter boom pump in Byculla fire equipment yard. If there is a fire, this boom pump can maneuver the building in a better way than going telescopically or in some other format.
The next one is the 4600 in Mahindra engine because we had challenges of cold starting in the high ranges and Leh Ladakh area. So, we have put an engine which has got the capability in that.
Then, we have a 45-cubic metre batching plant which is a mobile plant as we used to have 20, 25, 30 and the next one is 16. So now, we had filled up the gap with the 45 which is a product suggested by the customers. We have also launched the PSIV engine mounted, three tone loader and five tone loader and motor grader these are the additional three products. Then we have two models of excavators which are newly launched – the 38-meter and one on the smaller range. And then we have two crane models 150 tonne, crawler and 150 tonne truck crane. Then, a Shotcreting machine and AWP for man lifting. Innovating and launching products is going to be our culture which will make us more relevant for the market.
What are your growth strategies?
As you know, 2018 was the best financial year for construction equipment industry in India. Most of our industry colleagues are talking about reaching that level into those in 2022. We crossed that number in 2021 itself and we crossed it by a solid 30% growth on that. So, this year, we have a chance to double up what we did. So, when others are getting there, we will be having two times of our size.
Tell us about your dealership network.
In the last two years, we have focused on critical areas like innovation, capacity building and new product development and enhancing our dealership network from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. We have around 26 dealers. Two more are pending to be appointed.
What are your after-market initiatives from the end-users point of view?
We have seven simulators at our factory. You can learn how to use the machine even before you actually get into the machine. We have invested on that and have tied up with two state governments. We are certifying a lot of people directly and through IESC. We have got a big setup both for hardware software and manpower to address the skill requirement.
During covid, we also launched an ecommerce portal three months. So the coming generations can order the machine parts on their mobile, see whether the pattern matches their machine model and they can track the delivery, whether it is lifted and when it will reach their yard and also make payment through the portal.
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