Let’s start with some facts and figures about the situation of roads in India as compared to the first world countries before we get into why RoadMaster G75 is revolutionising road making in India. 60 per cent roads in developed nations are multi-lane expressways, national and state highways. The corresponding number for India is a meagre 6 per cent or 2,56,749 Km roads across the length and width of the country. On the same lines major district roads (MDR) or other district roads (ODR) constitute of 30 per cent road length in developed countries and 36 per cent in India. Finally, Village roads (VR) and unsurfaced roads constitute 10 per cent of the road length in developed countries and a whopping 58 per cent or 27,49,805 kms of roads in India. Simply put 95 per cent of roads in India are small single to double lane roads while only the remaining 5 per cent are the larger ones requiring bulky machines for road making and maintenance.

Most Motor grader brands available in India are either imports or from foreign manufacturers from developed nations and are designed to suit the requirements of their home countries. These machines from international manufacturers are simply brought and sold in India without actually understanding the ground realities or requirements of the Indian market. Most motor graders sold in India are huge, expensive and grossly underutilised since the market for these machines is restricted to the few large players catering to this 5-6 per cent of all roads in India. This oversight ensures that the sale and utilisation of these machines is restricted to the big players and a very small market. For catering to the remains 95 per cent of the market, these machines prove to be way to bulky and expensive. Too bulky and expensive for the size and budget of these roads resulting in small sales volumes.

The Mahindra RoadMaster G75 on the other hand, is designed and manufactured in India for India. 20,000-plus man days of product development, 6,000 plus hours of extensive testing across India in the most extreme working conditions, locations and applications, extensive one year study of the road and road construction eco system in India and inputs from customers, contractors, government officials and other entities involved in the road construction eco system are the extensive and inclusive efforts that have gone in designing this disruptive machine especially for India and Indian Roads. The RoadMaster G75 is manufactured at Mahindra’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Chakan, Pune.

Traditionally road construction India, especially for the smaller roads has been extensively labour intensive, combined with sub optimal methods and misfit machinery. This has led to the road being of poor quality with a very short life. Reduced road life means added expenses for maintaining the road and re-doing the same roads over and over again. Road construction being labour intensive also means that there are huge expenses on labour management and the speed of road construction still remains very slow with the same roads being redone time and over again.

Compared to the suboptimal methods used in Road construction as of today, the RoadMaster G75 is 180 per cent faster, single-handedly handles the work of 30 labourers, has reduced road construction cost and higher operator comfort. As compared to the conventional Motor Grader the RoadMaster G75 has 50 per cent the productivity at 35 per cent the product cost and 40 per cent the operating cost without compromising on the quality of work. The RoadMaster G75 is powered by the powerful performance of the Mahindra DITECH engine and is designed to have the lowest maintenance and operating cost in its class leading to increased productivity and profitability for the owners.

The RoadMaster comes with a 3000mm blade that is perfect for construction and maintenance of small and medium roads in addition to being suitable for expansion work of state and national highways. The blade comes with the option of reducing the blade size to 2,600 mm by removing 200 mm of blade form each side. This feature is particularly useful when working on small roads with moving ongoing traffic. The grader can be used to grade one side of the road first and then the other. The cutting edge of the blade is in four separate pieces for ease of handling and replacement. It is a lot more convenient, affordable and affordable to replace parts of the blade instead of having to replace the whole blade due to damage to a single part.

Traditionally, for small roads backhoe loaders and tractor graders have been used for road construction applications of grading and levelling since the conventional graders are too huge and expensive. These machines however were not created for this purpose and make for a poor grading and levelling finish. this is where the motor grader form Mahindra comes in the picture. The G75 provides for a much superior finish as compared to the backhoe loader and labourers while saving 50 per cent on the time required to get the job done, provided the material is available on site. The G75 saves at least 40 per cent on costs as compared to the labour and backhoe loader method that is traditionally used.

The use of the RoadMaster will lead to better quality roads being constructed at a much faster pace. Additionally, the roads being of a superior quality will result in less maintenance requirements and expenses. Plus,good quality work on time will result in good credibility for the contractor with both government officials and locals leading to increased work contracts. Use of the RoadMaster will also result in the faster project completions with better profit margins.

As compared to the tractor graders the RoadMaster provides for a superior Camber and superelevation finish in addition to doing 2.5 to 3 times more work. Additionally, the G75 is a registered motor grader than can be used against tender requirements. Moreover, the RoadMaster comes with ripper and dozer attachment options to increase the versatility and scope of work of the grader.

The RoadMaster is a disruptive product in the Motor grader segment that is set to change the way more than 90 per cent of roads in India are being constructed. With the affordable pricing of G75, even small and medium players will be able to comfortably enter the Road Construction Market which has been traditionally ruled by the larger players due to the cost intensive nature of the venture. The RoadMaster is comfortably priced at almost one third the cost of a conventional grader and provides for 50 per cent of the work done while completing projects on time with increased profit margins and better-quality roads.

Authored by_

Sachin Nijhawan,
Vice President and Business Head,
Mahindra Construction Equipment