Motor grader equipment dominates the overall construction equipment market in India

– SHANTANU ROY

Director (Mining & Construction Business), BEML

What is the current scenario / trends in the motor grader market in India? Which sectors do you think drive the demand?

Motor Graders in Indian market have been witnessing substantial growth during the past few years, due an increase in government spending in infrastructure projects such as smart cities, housing for all and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (urbanization). Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in the infrastructure sector would primarily boost the motor grader industry in India.

The government’s ambitious urban and rural infrastructure development plans offer a huge growth prospective for the demand of motor graders in our country. Thus, the future of motor graders looks optimistic. The major sectors that drive the demand for motor graders in the current market are the national highways, rural road development, mining, and haul road maintenance.

By application, motor grader equipment dominates the overall construction equipment market in India, as grader is used for a variety of construction jobs like road construction, leveling, material removal, and maintenance of roads. With the increasing connectivity of roads and expansion of highways across the country would create ample demand for motor grader equipment in India’s market.

What is the current market size of motor graders in India?

The motor graders market was valued at USD 30 billion in 2021, and the industry is further expected to grow at a CAGR of about 5% during the period of 2023-2028.

In india the Market size of Grader as per the ICEMA report of 2021-22 is 140 Nos for < 140 HP, 605 Nos for 140 to 200 HP and is 34 Nos for > 200 HP

However, since graders are equipped to perform multiple operations, the demand for graders will improve in the coming years and we could witness a remarkable increase in the sales.

Do you see a growth in the use of motor graders in terms of rural road construction?

By application, motor grader equipment dominates the overall construction equipment market in India, as grader is used for a variety of construction jobs like road construction, levelling, material removal, and maintenance of roads. The current market trends and government policies support the demand for the above said applications with rising demands coming from rural road development.

We believe that the rural road construction sector has rich potential for motor graders, hence we have developed low end Motor graders of capacity varying from 140 to 200 HP models ‘BG405’ and ‘BG605I’ to suit this requirement. Smaller and lighter models will find demand in rural development projects in India where they are needed for narrower road construction

What are the emerging technology trends in motor graders? How interested are contractors towards these technologies?

Sustainability of the motor graders in the market are mainly through innovations pertaining to the inclusion of variable horsepower features to cut down fuel costs, features for operator safety, increased efficiency and telematics features to monitor the motor grader.

The global diesel-electric hybrid motor graders market is expected to reach a substantially large market size in 2027. Industry analysis indicates that rising demand for diesel-electric hybrid motor graders in end-use industries, such as construction and mining, is driven by changing market trends, which are expected to support industry growth as well as market growth over the forecast period.

What is the scope of design changes in motor graders for different applications?

There are three main categories in our products. The major difference in these product ranges is the different sizes of Blade available for our customers, such as, for rural / road applications we have 10 ft. Blade, for national highway construction and similar applications we have launched medium range 12 ft. Blade and for mining applications we have Blade of size 16 ft.

The market in coming years is good as the government is investing a lot more in roads, irrigation and railways. We are expecting interlinking of rivers to open up soon, which will add further growth in earthmoving machinery. Mining applications require much torque and variable horse power to keep the operational costs down.

What is the current demand and market trend for motor graders in mining operations?

The sectors that drive the demand for our motor graders are mainly mining industries, cement industries, National Highway authorities for road construction and maintenance.

Mining applications require much torque and variable horse power to keep the operational costs down. With the customer requirements coming in with the same requirements, our machines have been loaded with variable horsepower options, safety features like ROPS (Roll over protection), FOPS (Fall over protection system) and rear camera which also makes the process hazard free and hassle free for the operators.

BEML Grader Model ‘BG825’ is the most rigid Grader with 280HP capacity is designed for Mining Application. In addition to this model, considering the market demand, now BEML is in the process of developing the 550 HP Motor grader for the first time in our country.

What are monitoring and control technologies associated with your range of motor graders?

Monitoring technology includes the electronic engines where the health and various other factors can be monitored. It ranges from the oil temperatures, pressure and levels etc. GPS technology helps us in monitoring the position, running hours and effective utilisation of the machine. Control technology includes the overload protection system. Our BG605I motor grader model features a hydraulically-controlled movable blade for ultimate precision and performance on any terrain – from highways and airports to construction and agricultural applications. Its blade can cut higher depths and create bank slopes of up to 90 deg.

How do you look at the future of motor graders in India?

The market in coming years is looking up due to the government’s huge budget outlay in roads, irrigation and railways. We are expecting interlinking of rivers to open up soon, which will add further growth in earthmoving machinery.  The demand for motor graders is expected to be strong in the next couple of years thanks to the government’s ambitious infrastructure development plans, especially its roads building programmes. This will be a major growth driver as developers need more powerful machines to meet construction deadlines. Additionally, with M/s CIL targeting 1 MTPA coal production, coal mining activity is rapidly picking up and there is work for motor graders in this application, building the haul roads. Therefore, in totality, it is expected to see an increase in demand for motor graders. Smaller and lighter models will find demand in rural development projects in India where they are needed for narrower road construction.

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