Leading experts from the crushing and screening industry share their outlook on what the future holds for production from different sources and C&D waste recycling.

India is one of the largest aggregates markets in the world. It is growing very fast and structural changes are happening here, too. There are innumerable measures taken by the government to strengthen the infrastructure sector which is ensuring that the demand for the aggregates sector remains intact. The industry estimates the aggregate market to be around 3.4 billion tonnes, and the aggregates market will grow at a greater pace in the coming years.

According to Abhinav Srivastava, Country Manager – Terex MPS – We are expecting a 9 percent year-on-year growth in the next 4-5 years; meanwhile, we must look at the alternatives. Right now, I don’t see much of a shortage for aggregates, but the construction companies and construction industry is dealing with a shortage of fine aggregates and sand. So, there is a need to look for varied alternate sources that are easily available and are lying idle and unused across India. For example, unused steel slag, copper slags, construction demolition waste, etc. In Mumbai, there is a trend of demolishing an 18-storey building to construct a 30 storey building. Instead of procuring aggregate from outside, we need to look at the best possible ways to utilise them. The same applies to the load segment as they are utilising the wrap as an alternative source for aggregates. So, we must look for ways of effective utilisation of the available alternative sources of aggregates in an appropriate manner.

According to Senthilkumar, Managing Director, Propel Industries Limited. – The requirement of each customer is unique and they expect the product they select to meet those expectations. The customers usually analyse the advantages and disadvantages of each machine type before selection.  We manufacture cone and VSI crusher range indigenously, making the best use of technological advancements. Customers have a wide range of crusher types to choose from. The capacity of demand, the technology used in the crusher, financial backup of the customer, relevant government policies and quality of the finished product are the various factors that drive the selection. I find that track plants are becoming increasingly popular. Track plants operated with electric power rather than by hydraulic means is in great demand now.

Dealing with demand and supply challenges

It’s a risky business, and it goes against the environment. It also creates employment opportunities as a crushing plant needs at least 50 – 60 people to manage and run the entire operations of a crushing plant. Here, Abhinav says “People usually have a habit of obtaining monetary benefits from the considerate scenario without realising the situation and the circumstances. And investing in crushing plants is not a small thing if you look into the cost towards land, operation, covering costs; they are big and valuable investments.” So the easy way out is to give them some and work it out. The issue is if this becomes a regular habit, then it will potentially hamper our businesses. In one of our plants in Rajasthan, people cut the road or related development progress as the associated payment has not been given. Here, the government need to ensure safety also.

Technology advancements in crushing and screening

The market growth of crushers and screens is because of the incorporation of technology and its increased usage, while also being eco-sensitive. Automation in the mining and construction industry is also a key factor in propelling industry growth.

“In every step we take, we are focussed on how best we can protect our environment.  Though we are known for incorporating the latest technology to constantly upgrade our products, which benefit our customers, being eco-sensitive is also constantly on our minds”, says Senthilkumar.

“For Hailstone, the focus is always on environmentally friendly aspects, as we all know, depletion means any development without considering the future generation’s right to grow here cannot be considered sustainable development,” says Sooraj Cherukat, Head – Sales & Marketing, Hailstone Limited. We know about various parts of the country that were surplus with a lot of water and all these facilities, and since the Indian economy was an agrarian economy, everybody was dependent on agriculture, but from that situation, we have moved to various points where even at the normal time, water was not available, even to drink.

C&D waste evolving as a viable source for construction aggregates

The electrical track mounted mobile crushing and screening equipment from Propel Industries is designed to convert the raw materials derived from used concretes, construction and demolition wastages, glass wastages and asphalt recycling into secondary materials.

“The Propel electric mobile track plant series processes the iron ores, aggregates and C&D waste under one roof. We have carved a niche for ourselves in being able to convert the C&D waste into saleable products, which has been proved beyond doubt during the renovation of airports in Maharashtra, in the recent past”, adds Senthilkumar.

Latest technologies for C&D waste recycling

There are a lot of benefits of C&D waste recycling – It reduces material disposal cost, re-handling cost and helps the client to re-use the same for landfills, sewer filling and road base flooring. No additional investment is required.

Propel next-generation diesel-electric tracks are eco-friendly, has high mobility, is easy to maintain and can be set up quickly. It is fuel-efficient, has good realization benefit to the customer, is engineered or continuous and reliable operation and is capable of handling even the toughest of materials. These properties make it ideal to handle C&D.

Technology advancements in manufactured sand

Lack of skilled labour is one of the burning issues. A question is, how much can we automate; and how much can we use artificial intelligence technology? Talking about the advancements in terms of pricing and innovations, Sooraj feels these advancements leads to ease of use and productivity, as productivity is one thing that is being very much focused on by every customer. Adding to the point of COVID and certainty, two different things are very much being focused on by each and every customer; one is the availability of the machine. Every customer wishes to have his or her machine ready to produce something at least 80 to 90 per cent of the time.

Challenges faced in the construction aggregate production

According to Rachit Agarwal, Director, Rajat & Sons Pvt. Ltd., “There are issues in the market about the output versus the capacity. Whenever we get such leads, say 50,000 tonnes of output in a month, and they say, ask for a 150 or 200 TPS plant; we are astonished as to whether they have experience of running a plant because we never experienced a 150 TPH or a 200 TPH plant giving a 50,000-tonne output.”

Whereas, Senthilkumar see a bright road ahead for the construction aggregate production sector, both in the domestic and international markets. The demand is steadily rising due to the construction and infrastructure development projects which have been lined up. The recent policies of the Indian government have also been structured in a way to benefit the sector.

Outlook on the aggregate market and crushing & screening technologies

We are living in unprecedented times. The pandemic has left its impact on almost every aspect of the industry.  The initiatives announced in the Budget 2021 are welcome but we will have to see how much of it will see the light of the day given the uncertain nature of the virus. The budget focussed on construction and CAPEX-led economic recovery and so, I wish for the best, in terms of business. There are huge untapped opportunities in the crushers and screens market.