STEERING Ahead

Skid steer, a little cute machine, is steadily carving a niche amid the Goliaths of construction equipment space.

Despite its sheer utility value and high adaptability with a wide variety of tools and attachments for applications such as recycling, paving, excavation, earthmoving, demolition, mining, landscaping and farming, skid steer, a compact and highly versatile machine is still somewhat in a concept selling stage in India.

Price Disparity
The high price perception of the skid-steer loader compared to backhoe seems to have dented the growth of the skid steer market. Amit Bansal, Head Sales & Marketing- Building Construction Products, Caterpillar India had this to say. “This is potentially one of the reasons why SSL market has not been able to take off at a substantial rate. The proposition of price-value for skid steers has not been accepted by the market in comparison to BHL. However, skid steers have become a niche product for applications where bigger and usual machines like backhoe loaders and hydraulic excavators (HEX) cannot be used.” However, he is optimistic. “With increasing manpower cost and focus on efficiency and safety, we expect SSL market to grow in India, though it may not be comparable to developed markets, as the usage patterns are very different.”

Bansal points out the possible reasons of the failure for the demand pick up for skid steers. The high price perception of the skid-steer loader and the abundant availability of cheap manual labour are the main factors that combine to limit sales. Further, customer’s preference for backhoe loader, which is regarded as offering greater versatility, limits skid-steer loader usage to specific niche applications. According to him the real estate sector is one of the major end-users of skid-steer loaders. However, this sector has not performed well over the last few years, which has resulted in subdued demand.

Application Galore
The skid steer loaders are classified on various parameters such as the load it can lift, size [sometimes in an existing process industry, the distance between the columns could be the deciding factor as the machine chosen should be able to squeeze through these narrow spaces], horse power, hydraulic flow, and pressure [depending on the specific attachment needs], to name a few. Skid steers have a major advantage of entering into space-constrained areas where other earthmoving machines cannot even enter. It has all the major applications of an earthmoving machine – from levelling of earth surface to demolition of jobs with the help of hydraulic applications. There are many good applications making this machine versatile.

Says Samir Bansal, General Manager – India, Off-Highway Research: “Skid steers loader is suitable for a wide range of applications such as in agriculture, industry, construction, demolition, material handling, solid waste management and maintenance. Its tight turning radius makes it especially suitable for use in confined areas with limited access. Despite these, the market for skid-steer loaders in the country still remains very small. Skid-steer loader sales have generally accounted for around one percent of the total construction equipment demand in the country.” Skid steers [generally] does the job like of any other bigger earthmoving equipment. If the work volumes are less, it is preferable and economical to use a skid steer instead of a bigger wheel loader or excavator. Fuel consumption and lubricant requirements will be less as compared to other bigger earthmoving equipment. Thus, the overall operational expenses become less. In skid steers, since it has smaller engines and does the same job of earthmoving machines, the emission levels are comparatively low, making it more environment-friendly.

Market Trends
Detailing the demand supply scenario over the years Bansal points out, “Sales of skid-steer loaders grew in 2012 and 2013 to 561 units. However, demand declined during 2014-2015, before peaking at 586 units in 2016 with import penetration of 48 per cent. With a greater emphasis being placed on productivity and cost effectiveness, and declining availability of manual labour, an increasing number of end-users are now assessing the economics offered by the skid steer loaders. This will help the growth in demand in the construction sector, especially from the urban infrastructure development.

According to Bansal considering foreseeable factors, the skid-steer loader market will continue to remain small for the next five years. Off-Highway Research forecasts the market for skid-steer loaders to grow to the level of 600-650 units during 2017-2021 excluding possible large institutional orders, which will add to the forecast numbers.

Steering Ahead
“Skid steer loaders as a concept are gaining popularity as the material handling segment grows however; there is a considerable opportunity owing to a significant increase in the number of urban rejuvenation projects. As building of urban infrastructure gains momentum there will be a need for modern material handling equipment,” points out Jasmeet Singh, Head Corporate Communications, JCB India.

He adds, “Skid steer loaders are best suited in applications where space is a restriction or in situations where frequent changes of attachment are required to suit a wide range of applications. Thus, as modern infrastructure or other best practices in other segments are introduced, skid steer loaders will find a lot of utility.”

Steering Ahead
As construction and infrastructure development picks up pace, the requirement for compact machines like skid steers for space-constrained project sites and maintenance activities will increase. Flyover or metro construction activity in a city where maneuverability to carry out loose material handling or site maintenance activities and even small scale excavation can be a challenge for larger excavators or backhoe loaders, a skid steer can effectively be used in such situations. While the ingenuity of the end-user segments helped the backhoe market to grow exponentially, the onus here is on the OEMs who need to develop the market to its full potential either by expanding the scope of application or finding ways and means to push the hirers into this segment. This may energize the market to a great extent.

Hits: 50