Tell us about the market size of mini excavators in India?
The Mini excavator market in India is currently at around 4-5% of the overall excavator market and has been growing year on year. The growth so far has been driven largely by a few South Indian states. We feel, the
The Mini excavator market in India is currently at around 4-5% of the overall excavator market and has been growing year on year. The growth so far has been driven largely by a few South Indian states. We feel, the growth will also come from government agencies in the rest of the country, as they try to modernize given the Swachh Bharat objectives.
What are the trends being witnessed in the mini excavator industry?
Within the mini excavator category, the 3T class has seen continuous growth over the past couple of years. This has mainly come at the expense of the 2T class, which started the mini excavator market in India.
There is also a marginal contribution by the 5T class.
As most of the excavators in the 2T class are imported & there is a mixture of both indigenous as well as imported machines in the 3T class, the price value proposition made the customers prefer the 3T class.
However, we believe the overall equilibrium between the different classes will be reached soon with major share dominated by 3T followed by 2T class.
We continue to believe the 5T market will remain a niche segment in the near term.
What is the scope of compact excavators in the future?
Generally, the size of machines to be used in a particular application is determined not by production volume alone. Rather, it is determined by the characteristics of the work site or the approach road the customer takes to reach the site. And this is where mini construction equipment’s play a role. These are used more where the site approaches are narrow or the site itself is very constrained. In such applications, the benefit that the mini excavator offers is its compactness.
Mini excavators are largely used for utilitarian applications where the objective is to do a multitude of work with minimal manual labor. The competition for mini excavators is not the large machines but manual labor.
Hence as a segment its relevance can only increase going forward.
What makes Tata Hitachi mini excavators the preferred choice among Indian clients?
Tata Hitachi’s mini excavators are made with a focus on Performance, Comfort and Simplified Maintenance.
The machines have high operational speeds and offer superior fuel economy.
The operator’s station has been detailed with ergonomic controls and work area design.
Apart from a robust design and boom swing features, the ZX20U and ZX33U come with zero tail swing enabling workability in very tight spaces. The machines come with full metallic covers for greater durability and they open wide to allow easy maintenance of the machine. Special care has been taken to include radial air filters and air pre-cleaner where possible to take care of Indian site conditions.
More and more contractors are opting for mini excavators instead of backhoe loaders? Tell us about its impact on OEMs?
Mini excavators are specialized machines which are designed to be compact and versatile.
Apart from the features of 360o revolution as any other excavator, Tata Hitachi’s mini excavators offer boom swing that helps in digging and loading in places where full swing is not possible as when working alongside a wall. The compact frame of the machines is also enhanced by the zero tail which enables the operator to only focus on the front side operations when in compact areas. Transportability is also extremely important to make this machine reach remote sites. For example, the Tata Hitachi ZX20U can be fitted easily on a Tata Ace (extended body) or an Ashok Leyland dost, whereas the ZX33U fits the Mahindra Nissan Load King.
What are the different factors that will drive the demand of compact/mini excavators in India?
Mini excavators are used for a variety of applications: from urban development to agriculture. Clearly the main reason why these are used is due to space constraint, where a normal excavator or a backhoe loader cannot operate and for work that requires greater efficiency and speed.
– Rahul Shorey
Head Sales (Construction), Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Private Limited reveals the trends, scope and versatility of mini excavators. Excerpts…
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