Tata Hitachi ZW225 is made in India with proven Japanese technology making it suitable to work globally

– BKR Prasad

Head – Marketing & Product Development, Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Company

What are the demand and application trends for wheel loaders in mining, construction, etc.?

Wheel loader market has been 3000-3100 units for the past 2 years & this is despite Covid19. As it is a material handling equipment, it is well used across a range of applications in infrastructure as well as mining & material handling in ports.

In infrastructure, it is widely used in building roads & highways, railways, tunnels, real estate as well as a stand-alone stone quarries & crushers supplying aggregates to a variety of end use segments. In mining, demand is driven mainly by coal handling as well as well as iron ore mining. It is also used in other mining applications involving bulk material handling. The other major application is various types of material handling in ports & inland waterway terminals – coal, iron ore, limestone etc.

If you look at the structure of the wheel loader market, 3 Ton payload segment comprised > 80% of the market in the early part of the last decade.

With the increased demand for production as well as time constraints of projects, the 5 Ton payload Wheel loader segment has steadily increased over time & now constitutes around 25% of the market.

This shift is because of customers graduating from smaller crushers to medium or large-sized crushers, mechanization of ports and higher production demand from the mining sector.

Wheel loader demand continues to be robust inspite of CEV-IV emission norms – introduced last year for CE that can ply on road – leading to an increase in price due to the up-gradation of the engine.

The govt is pushing economic growth through increased Capex in infrastructure. It has announced a 35% increase in Capex to Rs.7.5L Crs for this fiscal with Water supply, railways, PMGSY & Swach Bharat Mission having significant increase in allocation.

On the mining front, Coal block auctions continues & total of 56 mines have been auctioned till date. Coal India Ltd has set a target of 700MT production this year é12% YoY & is further targeting 1BnT production by 2024.

In addition, auctioned iron ore mines in Odisha that are yet to restart are expected to add to the demand. More auctions are planned.

Further 111L Crs of investment through NIP till 24-25, Bharatmala now likely to be completed by 26-27, Bharatmala 2 in the works, investment in Sagarmala, the continued increase in investments in mining for commodities driven by economic growth, consumption & energy demand all will drive the demand for wheel loaders in the future.

The elections & transition to CEV5 norms in FY 2024-25 might act as a temporary speed breaker, but growth is expected to continue thereafter.

In line with the current trends, the market will increasingly transition to higher capacity loaders, although the 3 payload Ton segment will still be the largest in the foreseeable future.

To what extent has concepts such as low life cycle cost, faster ROIs, lowest cost per tonne had an impact on the design parameters of the range of wheel loaders on offer?

While developing the machine the customer needs are identified and accordingly the correct product is chosen. Priority is given to LCC where utilization and production demand is high, and returns are benchmarked against a tonne of material handled. Even the maintenance and repair components are selected to lower the operation cost. Thus, faster ROI is achieved.

Recently, Tata Hitachi launched a 5 Ton payload wheel loader- ZW225 (CEV-IV).  A machine specially designed for higher productivity and reliability. Tata Hitachi ZW225 is made in India with proven Japanese technology making it suitable to work globally. As explained above, needs were taken into account & the machine is equipped with features like DSS (Down Shift Switch), Automatic bucket leveler, Auto float, and Bucket kick out. Customers are appreciating these features because it enhances their productivity and working efficiency contributing to faster ROI.

For the higher class of 7 tons and above Tata Hitachi has ZW310 (7 Ton), ZW370 (9 Ton), and ZW550 (11 Ton) as offering to meet requirements of mining, port, block handling, etc.

Nowadays customers are focusing on green initiatives by reducing fuel efficiency. What is your company doing to match these requirements?

On the technology front, Tata Hitachi was the first OEM to introduce indigenously designed & manufactured fuel efficient hydrostatic Wheel loader TL340H which gives 20% lower fuel consumption in keeping with evolving customer needs.

Tata Hitachi TL340H Prime is a 3.4 Ton payload Wheel loader with best-in-class fuel efficiency, is a good choice for customers who prefer low running costs. Customers can save up to Rs. 5 to 8 lacs per annum with this machine. Automatic gearless drive, superior operator comfort (Air conditioner, single lever operation, bucket type seat, etc.), higher safety (Front guard, rearview camera, battery cut off switch, etc.), InSite (Telematics system), and a variety of buckets and attachments make TL340H the best choice for customers. Further, Tata Hitachi continuously upgrades its machine to reduce carbon footprints. Tata Hitachi machines use long-drain oils to reduce environmental impact.

All machines are compliant with CEV-IV (BS-IV) regulations. It uses the latest ATD devices to lower pollution. Using CRDi technology for the engine gives lower emissions and higher fuel efficiency. By Apr’24 when CEV-V(BS-V) regulation will come into place, Tata Hitachi will offer Wheel loaders that will comply with the norms.

What challenges would the industry face to move to completely electric?

The industry to move completely to electric has a few challenges in terms of commercial and operational needs. The electric Wheel loaders are expensive, and not a viable option for all the customers to use them at this moment. In the future if the cost comes down, then it might be beneficial over the life cycle of the machine.

Another challenge is with respect to the operation. As the Wheel loader is highly mobile during operation it is not possible to use the tethered machine. Also, since these machines require high power, the battery size and capacity also have limitations

Electric charging infrastructure is challenging for some applications. Since these machines work in remote locations it’s difficult to develop charging infrastructure for these machines at all places.

Hence a change in powering technology in wheel loaders will be driven mostly by economic & regulatory considerations rather than pure electric or otherwise by customers here.

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