Prashant Suryawanshi, Managing Director, Manitowoc Cranes Potain India Pvt Ltd. In an interview with B2B Purchase.

How do you access demand for tower cranes in India? 

The market size for tower cranes has been around 350- 450 tower cranes for the past 7-8 years. It has reached its peak in 2014 with up to 600–650 tower cranes. We expect the market to mark a new peak in the next 2-3 years. As the main driving factor for Tower Crane sales is the real estate market, we see good development in this sector. Even government policies have been helping the real estate market to see new potential. The new FSI/ TDR policies have let builders and developers build taller buildings, and hence the need for tower cranes on site is increasing. 

Can you brief us about the range of tower cranes you offer for construction and infra projects? 

Potain has two categories of tower crane: a) self-erecting and b) topslewing. Self-Erecting cranes are mostly sold in global markets, whereas we have a full-fledged factory to manufacture top-slewing tower cranes in India. The top slewing tower cranes range from 5 tonnes (MCT85) to up to 64 tonnes (MD2200). In India, we manufacture 5 tonne (MCT85), and 10 tonne MCT205, which takes care of almost 95–98 percent of the Indian market requirements.

What are your expectations from Excon 2022?

It is an exciting feeling amongst all our CE manufacturers to have an event/ gathering like Excon to reconnect with all our customers after such a huge gap and a series of lockdowns due to the Covid pandemic. Excon has always been the most exciting gathering for all of us in the construction equipment sector. It also becomes an event to connect not just with our customers but also with other fellow equipment manufacturers, peers from the industry, and colleagues across different regions.

What kind of investments will be required to meet customer expectations? 

I think this pandemic has taught us how interdependent we are in this entire market place, particularly in the construction sector, where we saw everything very clearly that infrastructure and construction sector be really stopped even in shattering conditions. We need to develop and implement measures to make construction sites invincible in such situations. 

Construction sites are complex and can add multiple challenges considering their geographic location, territory, and availability of resources, which can be averted by implementing optimum mechanisation and advanced construction technology. As a result, the tower crane essentially becomes an important part of the mechanisation. Like all global construction sites, the tower crane is the first and last major piece of equipment to get on and off site. Normally, you should aim to have coverage of 110 percent of the entire site area with the help of a tower crane for all your lifting and shifting needs on a construction site.

Which products and services can be expected from your organisation during the event? 

In Excon, we will be displaying and launching our newest tower crane flattop model an improved tip load of 1.5 tons, and an improved freestanding height of up to 50.9 metres. This model is available in two versions: 6 tonne and 8 ton. 

We shall also be displaying a live tower crane operation unit at our stall on ground level. This will consist of an operator cabin connected to all three mechanisms (hoisting, slewing, and trolley). Anyone can come and have experience of the live operation of a tower crane at EXCON. As a result, we relocated the entire tower crane operation to ground level for convenience.