A. M. Muralidharan, President, Volvo Construction Equipment – India, talks all things construction equipment and how the market has managed to grow by 8-9 per cent
As the road ministry announces to clear EPC projects worth Rs.500 crore, Volvo Construction Equipment expects better market growth. The company has already seen the road equipment market growing by 8-9 per cent in the last 6 months and with this announcement it is likely to grow even further in the next two quarters.
Constructing 20 km of highwayVolvo believes that constructing 20 km of highway a day is definitely feasible. However, the industry is facing few issues which are delaying the work. The government should ensure 100 per cent acquisition of land before handing them over to the contractors. Work often gets stalled due to lack of proper ownership of land by contractors. There is also a need to increase the number of equipment used for road construction. Unavailability of resources like quarry, water and subsoil close to the construction area is a major drawback. Such resources should be available with proper authorisation. Contractors are not getting financial support easily and that is delaying their projects.
Meeting growing demandVolvo Construction Equipment is very positive. Although 2012 was better than 2011, Volvo hopes 2013 will be a turning point. There are a lot of works to be done in this country. For the next 10-15 years, there will be good opportunities for manufacturers.Volvo Construction Equipment is among the top players in the market and happy with what it has done so far. In 2011, the company invested Rs. 90 crore in its Bengaluru plant and has started producing excavators in the plant. For now it has the capacity for the next 3 years. Volvo has consolidated its position in India and created a good customer base. It has around 12,500 machines working today; so it’s good base to invest more money and make sure customers follow Volvo.
Skill training and developmentIt has also been actively involved in skill development and is investing in training and competence development to ensure there are trained people to operate advanced machineries. RASTA, an initiative by the Volvo Group, is offering specialised training programs catering to working professionals from the government departments, construction companies, and consulting organisations. Apart from conducting training programs at RASTA Bangalore, it also conducts training programs at job sites to encourage more participation. Until now, more than 3,000 engineers of various levels have been trained at RASTA.
Asphalt paversThe Volvo pavers are a comprehensive paving solution for customers facing increasing demand for productivity and versatility in the road construction industry. The Volvo P6820 is a mid-sized paver which is ideal for medium-to large-scale jobs. These have high paving output and are designed for paving all kinds of wearing, binder and base courses of large widths and course thickness. It combines Volvo’s well-known fuel efficiency with the flexibility, high productivity, and versatility that customers in the road construction industry need to get the job done.
Asphalt compactorVolvo large asphalt compactors offer more depth and breadth than ever, reflecting a tradition of continuing innovation in responding to customer needs. These compactors include advanced designs in operator comfort and visibility, and the industry’s best water system.Soil compactorVolvo designs soil compactors with many innovative features that provide excellent drum performance, serviceability, reliability, and a safe, comfortable environment for the operator. Volvo smooth-drum and padfoot-drum models are engineered to efficiently and effectively compact all types of soils from granular to cohesive.
Motor gradersWith over 130 years of experience, Volvo motor graders are engineered with field-proven components for reliable service life. It’s the road grader versatility that makes it unique in earthmoving, road building, snow clearing, ripping, scarifying, ploughing, and pushing.New products for Indian marketVolvo CE sees very good opportunity in the Indian road equipment industry in 2013. Volvo always believes in constant innovation. Even this year, it plans to introduce products suitable for the Indian market.
Volvo CE has always been known for selling premium products, and it will continue to do so. The company believes that if customers are shown a long-term value in the ownership and performance of a certain machine, they look beyond the initial cost and evaluate the total lifecycle cost. Therefore, the customers are willing to invest in a machine that provides them with long-term benefits.