Our focus was on using the platform to showcase our innovative line-up of the latest offerings in terms of products, services and technology.
BKR Prasad Head, Marketing and Product Development, Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Company What has been your focus during Excon this year? Post-pandemic, we were waiting for an opportunity, especially for a powerful platform like
– BKR Prasad
Head, Marketing and Product Development, Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Company
What has been your focus during Excon this year?
Post-pandemic, we were waiting for an opportunity, especially for a powerful platform like Excon to showcase our world-class products and services, and more importantly to connect with our customers and other business partners. The 11th Edition of Excon came at the apt time for the construction equipment sector, to give the most needed thrust ahead.
At Tata Hitachi, under the umbrella theme of Chalo Desh Banaye, which is our trademark tagline, we celebrated ’60 years of Atmanirbharta’, to commemorate 60 years of our operations.
Our focus was on using the platform to showcase our innovative line-up of the latest offerings in terms of products, services, and technology. We displayed our range of Compact, Infra, and Mining Equipment, Parts, Services and Attachment solutions.
What are the products launched or on display during Excon and what are the features of the products launched?
On display was Tata Hitachi’s range of Compact, Infra, and Mining equipment, including the recently launched CEV-IV compliant Shinrai Backhoe Loaders, and the TL340H PRIME series of Hydrostatic Wheel Loaders, apart from the new launches.
In the 20-Ton Hydraulic Excavator category, our flagship model EX200LC has more than 25000 installations across the country and is also the most successful running model in the Indian CE industry. To strengthen that portfolio, we launched the new variant called EX200 Super+.
The Excavator segment which is witnessing the maximum growth in India now is the Mini range. While we have three models that we sell successfully, we unveiled at Excon an indigenously developed, 3-Ton Excavator NX30.
While we are the market leaders in the Hydraulic Excavator segment, we have also been working on expanding our portfolio of wheeled equipment. Our wheel loader portfolio has been further expanded with the launch of a 5-Tonpayload capacity Wheel loader ZW225. Also on the display was our CNG-powered SHINRAI PRO Backhoe loader.
Apart from equipment, we showcased our prowess in hi-tech digital innovation with our state-of-the-art telematics solutions, ConSite for Tata Hitachi’s ZAXIS GI series of hydraulic excavators, and the next-generation version of InSite for our EX Super + series of hydraulic excavators and wheeled products. We also launched the InSite app which brings convenience to the palms of our customers. These telematics suites are armed with GPRS-based remote machine monitoring applications and help the customer view their machine locations and enable them to monitor machine health and operations through alerts.
eDost, our newly developed digital platform designed for real-time connection with our customers and other stakeholders for all their needs, garnered a lot of interest from the visitors.
How do you look at the market scenario in India for your products launched/displayed at Excon?
It is first important to put the past in perspective. In 2020-21, the first year of the pandemic, the CE market grew by 9% even when the economy registered negative growth. The pandemic did have an impact during the lockdown period, but the industry recovered rapidly due to pent-up demand and government focus on infrastructure activities.
Last year, despite the devastating second wave of the pandemic, some segments of the CE industry did grow. However, issues other than Covid-19 impacted the market. In the case of wheeled equipment, the transition to CEV-IV emission norms and the consequent substantial price increases impacted customer sentiment significantly, with some segments showing negative growth in the range of 15%-30%. Although growth was seen in the excavator segment, it was mainly due to the high base effect of H1. Based on all these factors, the CE industry saw an overall negative growth of 9% in the previous financial year.
The signs going forward are encouraging given the government’s thrust on infrastructure development as announced in this year’s budget, with significant outlays in several areas. A 35% increase in Capex was announced for this fiscal with water supply, railways, PMGSY, and Swachh Bharat Mission seeing a significant increase in allocation. Other key infrastructure activities like highway construction and urban infrastructure have seen marginal growth in budgetary allocations. What will become important for the growth of the CE industry is the execution of all the projects announced. With the general elections nearing in early 2024, we do expect that execution will increase, driving CE growth this year and the next.
At Tata Hitachi, we are ready in terms of the strength of our network, products, and service solutions to take on this momentum, with a thrust on increasing our customers’ profitability.
What are your feedback/comments for Excon this year?
This Excon has been a roaring success for us. A cursory glance at our footfalls would amply demonstrate this. We are thankful to our most valuable customers, dealers, and vendors partners for their forevermore support. Despite the odds posed by the weather, we had enthusiastic participation from all stakeholders. Even on the Day 2 of Excon, when the outdoor arena was out of bounds for visitors, we had a busy day!
The effect of torrential rains and traffic snarls at the entry/exit points of the Exhibition venue were the major deterrents to this edition.
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