We, at Caterpillar, believe that technological solutions like Telematics, Analytics and IoT in our machines are the future for the industry

– Mukul Dixit

Director, Sales & Marketing (Global Construction & Infrastructure) Caterpillar India

What is your outlook on the excavator market in India? What are your future plans for the market?

The construction of roads and infrastructure is expected to increase rapidly in India. This is driving the demand for the excavator market along with government’s ambitious plan to spend heavily in infrastructure development, including railroads, roads and highways, rural electrification, water supply and irrigation.  The rebound process, post the pandemic, started earlier this year, hence we see that the demand for the construction equipment will continue to increase in 2023. 

The high pace of road construction that the Indian government has committed to achieve, our customers will require construction equipment that is highly productive, fuel-efficient, provides operator comfort and is easy to maintain. To meet our customer requirements, we continue to work on developing technologically advanced features in our range of excavators to increase fuel-efficiency and productivity.

The increase in private and public infrastructure projects, collective economic development activities as well as increasing government focus on key projects such as Bharatmala, Sagarmala, Housing for All, Smart-City, intercity rapid rail / metros, rail and road network across the country are some of the major factors which is driving the demand for construction equipment in India. Growing industrialization across the region and increasing investments for infrastructure development would also boost the excavator market in India.

How is technology evolving in excavators in terms of: productivity, fuel efficiency, and operational efficiency?

We at Caterpillar believe that technological solutions like Telematics, Analytics and IoT in our machines are the future for the industry. We continue to build solutions with Cat® Product Link™ technologies along with GPS connect, which not only help improve traceability and visibility but also enable the systems to observe, identify and understand different facets of heavy machinery operation without human intervention and improves the maintenance and operation of machines. 

Our equipment is built to provide customers with accurate, timely and useful information digitally about the location, utilization and condition of your equipment. This continued investment in the development of new technology and products is a hallmark of Cat products as it ultimately leads to greater value to our customers.

At Caterpillar, we aim to help customers reach their sustainability goals, including lowering emissions with a variety of solutions including machines that run on renewable fuels or technology that increases fuel efficiency, help customers build a more sustainable world and a commitment and contribution to a reduced-carbon future.

With so many added features in your machine and India being a cost-centric market, how do you maintain the equilibrium between cost and quality for your excavators?

Our customers expect efficiency, productivity and quality product from our range of solutions. The robust cost of ownership of our machines provides our valued customers an opportunity to grow their business while keeping them profitable. We closely listen to our customers and understand their pain points and we build solutions keeping the customer feedback in mind. In a nutshell, we focus on productivity for our customers, which includes – technologically advanced solutions, fuel efficiency, low down time, lower cost of ownership, and most importantly safety and operator comfort. Our products cater to all segments of the construction industry market and needs of our customers. We have wide range of excavators, starting from 13T to 95T and to cater to every customer’s requirement, Caterpillar has 4 models in Large Excavators for OB & mining, 3 models in Medium Excavators and a variety of Small Excavators.

Rentals play key role in the growth of excavator market. How is the rental demand currently?

We have a range of excavators to provide on rent and we provide our equipment on rent at reasonable rates for a flexible length of time, for example 3 months, 6 months, year or more to suit our customer requirements for projects they are working on.

Our equipment is widely used for different kinds of Infrastructure projects, Coal mining, ports, Cement industry, Construction Projects Etc. We offer rental services in construction, Mining Equipment, tools, and supplies. The major Cat equipment we do offer on rent are Motor Grader, Excavator, Dozer, Wheel Loader, Skid Steer Loader, Backhoe Loader.

The Cat® 320D3 GC is one of the most popularly rented excavator. It offers up to 15% lower fuel consumption against its previous comparable models. The robust and easy maintenance fuel system filtration reduces risk of failure from contaminated fuel. It is designed and built with hydraulic pumps that deliver superior performance while saving energy with boom and stick regeneration valves.

India being a vast market for CE products; how does your company propose to manage this vast market through placing a strong dealership network and distribution channel, pre- and aftermarket sales support services for the users?

Our construction solutions strive to generate synergies in production, sales, and on a host of other functional fronts. To accomplish this aim, we cultivate human resources and extend our line-up of products that are capable of responding to the needs of diverse customers, markets, and construction industry. There is no doubt that Caterpillar’s global character in infrastructure development, cutting-edge technologies has led to establish six manufacturing units in India and our strong dealer network is spread across India.

Caterpillar not only provides with a consistent user- friendly experience but also focuses upon delivering the right services and solutions in the right geographies. We are committed to understanding the needs of our customers and delivering pioneering products by growing our reliance on services with a focus on digital-enabled solutions and aftermarket to increase customer loyalty thereby strengthening our relationships with our customers.

What are your market challenges and suggestions for improving the market for excavators?

To improve the market for excavators as well as the construction industry, Caterpillar has adopted digital technologies ahead of the curve. Investment in new solutions is high and we are committed to providing the best combinations to serve the Indian market. Some of our focus areas include seamless control and analytics as well as building new models with our solutions integrated from the start. Autonomous monitoring software and analytics will continue to drive our digital solutions in the near future while we work on more cutting-edge innovations.

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