With our improved telematics, we can increase our digital footprint & track equipment more efficiently.

– Vivek Hajela

Vice-President & Head, Construction Equipment Business, Larsen & Toubro

With the second wave of Covid-19 still looming over, what is the current market size (demand-supply scenario) of wheel loaders in terms of value and unit sales?

There is no denying of the disruption caused by the two devastating waves of Covid-19. It brought the whole industry to a standstill. There was never a more crucial time for the Government to emphasize on Atma Nirbharta as the over dependence on vulnerable global supply chains could prove fatal to the economy in the event of a disaster. Construction equipment industry, specifically material handling machines like wheel loaders would be essential for the Government’s bid to boost the Indian infrastructure. So, we expect a steadily growing demand for wheel loaders in near future as the infrastructure, coal, metal and mineral processing sectors are expected to outperform their pre-pandemic levels and we expect it to reflect on the pent-up demand for wheel loaders.

During the 2nd wave, lockdowns were more localized and industry was also much more prepared to deal with the situation. This is evident from the 3 T wheel loader market size growing to 351 units in  Q1: FY21-22 against 146 units on Q1:FY 20-21, regardless of a deadlier second wave. We expected backlash from the construction sector due to migrant crisis, but it quickly subsided by metals and minerals processing and raw material handling segment attributed to increased demand of the steel. The industry has become more resilient towards the pandemic, as we become more aware of Covid-19 and learning to cope with the challenging situation.

The 3 – 3.5ton size has a dominant contribution in the overall wheel loader demand, hence, we expect this class to continue to grow at a healthy rate of 15-20% during the year.

Tell us about the unique features of L&T range of wheel loaders compliant with stage IV regulation.

In line with the government’s push towards cleaner and sustainable solutions across various sectors, new emission norms for construction equipment vehicles came into effect from 1st April 2021. Our wheel loader models L&T 9020 and L&T 9020sx are fully indigenously designed and manufactured. Hence, our Product Development Centre have transformed them with CEV-IV complaint engine and technology. These machines have undergone extensive field trials and deliberations, and we shall be launching them very soon. The new CEV-IV models are expected to be more reliable and fuel-efficient and shall meet the emission standards towards cleaner environment.

In addition to this, the new CEV stage IV wheel loaders come with improved telematics through DigiEye tracking system and an optional Payload monitoring system to help customers enhance productivity through optimization of operations. Overall, our new CEV IV series of wheel loaders comes with a host of environment-friendly features like low emission, noise, vibration etc.

How have you been able to leverage the advantages of disruptive technologies in designing the cab with a specific focus on safety and operator comfort?

We are committed to offering safe and comfortable operator environment and in this regard, we have offered ergonomically designed operator cab with large cabin space, more glass for better all-round visibility, adjustable comfortable seat. All the cabins comply to FOPS requirement, while we also provide ROPS as an optional feature.

We have developed DGMS kits with ROPS Cabin, Rear View Camera, Double Door Cabin, Audio Visual Reverse Alarm etc. to comply with the stringent mines safety norms.

We have also introduced multifunction hydraulic joysticks for all hydraulic operations, FNR lever for gear change and direction control. We can also offer Air-conditioned operators’ cabin to further enhance operator comfort. Our new engine having low noise levels and less vibration reduces operator fatigue. This is a step forward towards providing a safe and comfortable operators environment.

What kind of after-sales services and solutions has been offered by you in terms of quality of the products as well as to add brand value?

This year, we are celebrating 75 years of our presence in Construction & Mining Equipment Industry. In fact, ours is one of the oldest business of L&T. During these 75 years, we have developed world-class infrastructure for training and after-sales support. With such a long experience in the Construction equipment industry, L&T is well – known for its reliable after sales support. We offer a 24-hour customer care facility called EquipCare offering customers to register their service requirements, details of the deployment of service engineer and to provide feedback on their satisfaction about the services rendered.

With our improved telematics, we can increase our digital footprint and track equipment more efficiently. We have also launched an app called L&T Maitri to provide an interactive platform with the machine operators. We provide regular updates on the operation and maintenance of machines to the operators directly through the app. This is a great way of enabling the operation team of the customer through regular communication and to keep the information at the last mile updated. In addition to this, we are adding new dealers and service centers for better coverage.

We believe that the indigenous equipment supplied by the local manufacturers with superior service delivery to ensure high uptime through technological and human proximity closer to the customer would hold the key for success in the future.

What do you think are the challenges and possible new avenues in the wheel loader segment?

Despite Government’s commendable efforts to increase credit flow and to boost spending, there is still a lot of apprehension in the market of the impending Covid wave in future.  There are payment concerns from State Governments who are facing challenges with fund shortages. This is creating financial stress among contractors. Steel prices have risen sharply in the past 6 months, and this has led to steady increase in the prices of all construction equipment over the past few months. The prices of new CEV-IV compliant wheel loaders will be at least 18-20% higher than BS-III models and may aggravate the situation further. The rental rates of CEV-IV models will also have to proportionately increase. Hence, it may take some time for the market to absorb such price increase, which may affect the demand over the next 2-3 months.

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