The era of smart mining has arrived, and it promises to be a game-changer for the industry and the world.

Shantanu Roy, Chairman & Managing Director, BEML

What specific goals and priorities are you aiming to achieve during Excon 2023?

Excon is the largest construction equipment event being held in south Asia, BEML is proud to inform that, we had participated in all the previous editions of EXCON Exhibitions.

It is the ideal platform to exhibit and promote our Construction Equipment featured with latest technologies. Being a part of this mega event, will provide us an opportunity to interact with various aggregate / component suppliers, meet the leaders of construction equipment manufacturers, interact with technical consultants and industry experts, understand the latest technology in the market, customer expectancy from our products and market trends.

During this Excon, as with previous exhibitions, BEML is displaying its various range of construction equipment during EXCON 2023 and we expect a good footfall of customers from various segments, so that we may showcase our latest features on the equipment so as to ensure utmost comfort to the customer in-terms of productivity and operationality.

Can you provide insights into the range of products you intend to showcase at Excon 2023?

During EXCON 2023 Exhibition, BEML would display the following equipment equipped with advanced technology to meet the current and future market demand:

• Motor Grader:Motor Grader with BSIV engine and 12 feet Blade model “BG605I”
• Crawler Dozers:Crawler Dozer powered with 180 HP model “BD65-1”

Crawler Dozer powered with 230 HP model “BD85”

• Wheel Loaders:Wheel Loader with BSIV Engine mounted with 1.7 Cum Standard Bucket model “BL200-1”

Wheel Loader with BSIV Engine mounted with 3.1 Cum Standard Bucket model “BL30-1”

• Hydraulic Excavators:Hydraulic Excavator with 1.0 Cum Backhoe Bucket model “BE220G”

How is the company looking at leveraging this opportunity at Excon for business growth?  

In this 12th edition of Excon 2023, as in the past we expect visitor’s like Institutional customers (Mine Owners & Quarry Owners), Contractors, Equipment Hirers, Government officials, Equipment Components manufacturers/suppliers, Industry Experts, Industry Research firms, Financial institutions, Magazine publication firms etc., Hence, it would be an ideal platform to showcase our existing range of products and as well to display our new innovations we offer with regards products and services.

In the presence of major stake holders / decision makers it would be a great opportunity for equipment manufacturers to engage on discussions with the right technology / business partner to establish a mutually beneficial agreement and work ahead.

BEML being one of Asia’s largest manufacturer of earth moving equipment, would utilise this opportunity to display our strengths in both products and services offered at an attractive pricing package. Also, BEML is in the process of engaging new dealers for enhancing its construction equipment market throughout India. Hence, we hope this event would benefit BEML to tie-up with right technology/business partners.

How do you look at your company’s involvement in smart manufacturing of machines or your vision for the future in terms of AI, Automation, IoT, Robotics etc?

As one of the leading mining equipment manufacturers, BEML while migrating from conventional design, continues to adapt and embrace digitalization and advanced technologies in phased manner. In one of our manufacturing units where we manufacture critical components for Hydraulics and Powerline aggregates we have already introduced Industry 4.0 as a step towards making our production units as smart manufacturing units. On the equipment end, by leveraging the advantages of AI, ML, IoT, VR, AR & Telematics etc, in our range of machines, BEML will not only improve its bottom line but also contribute to safer, more sustainable, and responsible resource extraction on a global scale. The era of smart mining has arrived, and it promises to be a game-changer for the industry and the world. Few of the AI technology-based projects which are developed and are under development to address potential needs of our customers are as briefed below:

• Condition based Maintenance and Predictive Maintenance:helps for minimising downtime and enhancing the productivity.
• AI based Autonomous Equipment:Autonomous vehicle can be deployed in critical and hazardous zones with potential risk, thereby ensuring safety of operators.
• Virtual Reality & Simulators:Training simulators to train the HEMM operators.
• AI based Image processing solution will be helpful:

1. a) To detect operator behaviour and risky situations arising out of fatigue, sleep or drunken conditions.
2. b) To detect the Miners without safety gear and the presence of people in hazardous zones etc to warn and pre-empt accidents.
3. c) To develop collision avoidance systems for dump trucks to avoid fatal accidents.

What do you consider the most critical smart manufacturing technologies for the construction equipment industry, and why?

In the construction equipment industry, critical smart manufacturing technologies include IoT (Internet of Things) – enabled sensors for real time monitoring, AI for Predictive maintenance, robotics for automated assembly, 3D printing for Rapid Proto typing and advanced data analytics for optimizing production processes. Integration of these technologies enhances efficiency, reduces downtime and improves overall equipment performance.

In BEML, we have already implemented Industry 4.0 on pilot project at our Hydraulic & Power line division and the same is being implemented on other divisions based on the user feedback and the advantages of the system. Real time monitoring of the equipment along with the AI based predictive maintenance helps in improving the availability of the machine which in turn improves the productivity and ROI on the machine. It also helps in planning the critical spare parts. 3D printing helps in big way the development of proto machine and also where the varieties are more and volume is very small.

With the upcoming and ongoing infrastructure and construction opportunities in India, how do you intend to assess the performance and outcomes of your business for the coming quarters?

As you are aware, Govt of India has set a target of becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25, and to achieve the same, the govt has been grabbing every possibly opportunity to make it a reality. The total capital expenditure in infrastructure sectors during 2020 to 2025 is projected at Rs. 111 lakh crores. This would provide an opportunity for our range of Crawler Dozers, Excavators, Wheeled Loaders Graders and Backhoe Loaders.

The demand for energy is ever increasing due to various infrastructure development activities in the country. Hence, we expect that there will be a huge demand for mining equipment from coal mining sector. There are plans to increase steel production capacity to 300 million tonnes by 2030-31 as per National Steel Policy, 2017; hence there will be huge growth in Iron ore mining sector. In turn the demand for mining equipment will grow. The demand for cement is also increasing, due to growth in housing sector and Government strong focus on infrastructure development; which in turn driving the Limestone mining sector. Hence, huge opportunity for mining equipment manufactures in this sector. With the above opportunities; we expect that there will be continuous demand and growth for our Mining & Construction equipment in near future. Our extensive equipment line-up for mining application includes a wide range of heavy-duty equipment such as Bulldozers, Excavators, Motor Graders, Dump Trucks, Water Sprinklers and Loaders.  

What is your perspective on the anticipated market dynamics in the equipment sector?

The present market for construction equipment is demanding for machines equipped with technology advancements and competitive pricing. BEML with its well established R&D facility is continuously striving towards this and developing equipment to match this market demand. On the other hand, BEML is working towards Mining equipment to meet the demand in Mining Industry. With the growing mining activities; customers are preferring higher capacity mining equipment to achieve higher production and productivity. We expect demand for higher capacity mining equipment in near future. BEML has indigenously developed and manufactured the following higher capacity mining equipment that are unique it its own way:

• 150 Ton Electric Rear Dump Truck (Model : BH150E)  
• 205 Ton Electric Rear Dump Truck (Model : BH205E)  
• 180 Ton class Diesel Hydraulic Excavator (Model : BE1800D – Bucket Capacity: 10.2 Cum)
• 180 Ton class environmentally friendly Electric Hydraulic Excavator (Model : BE1800E – Bucket Capacity 10.2 Cum) which is powered by electric motor.

Electrically driven environmentally friendly; 21 Cu.M Rope Shovel which is under manufacturing process and will be supplied under trial order. Further, efforts are on to indigenously develop 460 HP Wheel Dozer, 550 HP Motor Grader and 8 Ton capacity Tyre Handler to meet the market requirement. In the infrastructure sector, we expect substantial demand for our various capacities small end construction equipment in the near future.

Could you elaborate on your company’s initiatives and progress in creating eco-friendly products?

Driven by India’s growing infrastructure needs, the mining and construction processes in the country have witnessed significant progressions. Embracing advanced technologies like automation and intelligent control systems, the industry has prioritised efficiency and safety almost on the top. BEML is in the process of upgrading all products to achieve the future regulations. There’s one way of achieving zero emission is by going electric, and we are already a leader in offering electric drives on 65t, 100t and 180t class of hydraulic shovels with indigenous content as high as 92%.

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