Our focus is selling access equipment in the intra-logistics space which includes factories and warehouses
Godrej Material Handling is India’s largest manufacturer of lift trucks and the only Indian company among the top 20 forklift manufacturers in the world. We manufactured our first forklift in India back in 1963 and until now we have manufactured 55,000+ pieces of equipment of varied capacities. We have an unparalleled infrastructure that enables us to design, develop and deliver forklifts to cater to our customer’s needs. Our 12,000 Sq. meter plant at Mumbai along with the 10,000 sq. meter plant at Bhiwandi is the biggest forklift manufacturing facility in the country and can deliver 5000+ forklifts a year.
– Neville Mevawala
Head, Sales & Marketing, Godrej Material Handling
Brief us on your company and its core competencies.
Godrej Material Handling is India’s largest manufacturer of lift trucks and the only Indian company among the top 20 forklift manufacturers in the world.
We manufactured our first forklift in India back in 1963 and until now we have manufactured 55,000+ pieces of equipment of varied capacities. We have an unparalleled infrastructure that enables us to design, develop and deliver forklifts to cater to our customer’s needs. Our 12,000 Sq. meter plant at Mumbai along with the 10,000 sq. meter plant at Bhiwandi is the biggest forklift manufacturing facility in the country and can deliver 5000+ forklifts a year.
Our Intralogistics solutions ensure that the orders of millions of India’s fast-growing online customers are met rapidly, efficiently, and profitably by the new generation of e-commerce companies.
We serve diverse sectors from Automobiles, Food and Beverages to Textiles, Paper, Pharmaceuticals, Chemicals, Railways and Defence. We have created bespoke services to adapt our solutions to your unique needs and conditions.
We have more than 40 channel partners across the country to provide solutions to our customers within 24 hours. We hold ISO 9001-2015, ISO 14001-2015 and ISO 45001-2018 quality assurance certificates awarded by TUV Nord.
Tell us about the product range and services offered to Indian customers.
Our product range includes diesel-powered forklifts up to 16 tonnes, electric battery-powered forklifts up to 5 tonnes, Reach Trucks, warehouse trucks and special forklifts for specific applications. We also offer a wide range of attachments to meet various customer applications.
Our partners Crown, Hubtex, Merlo, IMER and Mantall add to our range and create a full basket of offerings for our customers. Users and customers have a choice of outright purchase, lease, or rental. Various maintenance programs as per customer requirements are offered through our network of 16 branches & 43 dealers across India providing solid service and customer support.
What do you think about the growth potential in the current scenario? Which are the segments where awareness is fast picking up?
There is a huge potential for access equipment in our country. With a focus on infrastructure and concerns towards safety at the workplace, an increase in productivity will accelerate the growth of the usage of access equipment.
How do you find the industry practices here in India? Has it matured enough to adapt to newer technologies such as access equipment of various types?
The industries and warehouses in India are fast adapting the technology in terms of new processes, and digital platforms to increase productivity. The adaption of access equipment within the industries hasn’t picked up against the potential in the Indian market.
What is the market potential for access equipment in India and what is your company’s strategy for India?
There is immense potential for access equipment in India. High-ticket items like boom lifts are pre-owned equipment procured from other markets. The government should regulate imports of pre-owned equipment in the country with certain guidelines which facilitate companies to set up manufacturing facilities in India.
Our focus is selling access equipment in the intra-logistics space which includes factories and warehouses. We have partnered with IMER, Italy which provides high standards of safety and quality and also with Mantall to offer value-based solutions to our customers.
What are the initiatives taken by you on the safety front?
We are associated with CII and provide safety training programs across the country. We also do safety programs at our customer locations to increase awareness and suggest suitable solutions.
How do you view the potential for the rental of access equipment?
The access equipment worldwide goes more on rentals. These equipments are not directly linked with production and are mainly used for maintenance and project sites. A similar trend is being followed in India and believe the growth of 12-15% CAGR for the next 3-5 years should happen.
How do you view the competition in this segment and what makes your product different from the competition?
Most of the competition is global. This shall remain till the market in India is big enough for an Indian company to start production at a large scale.
We sell IMER access equipment which includes scissor lifts to 20m working height, boom lifts to 17m working height with a reach of 10m and crawler up to 19m working height with a reach up to 9m. The differentiating factor is that IMER scissor lifts have full capacity at an extended platform and are equipped with the latest safety standards. The equipment gets automatically shut off as soon as the equipment moves out of the safety zone.
What are the major challenges you have faced as an OEM and service provider?
The major challenge is that the customers consider access equipment as not critical equipment and still prefer manual and semi-automatic equipment which doesn’t have many of the safety features which are critical when working at heights.
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