We are well-placed to contribute to the needs of our customers as well as the country as India embarks on accelerating the pace of infrastructure creation says Ankur Tiwari, Senior Manager- Sales & Marketing, Ammann India Pvt Ltd.

How do you see Atmanirbhar Bharat to impact your sector?
In the future, more and more infrastructure equipment suppliers will look at India as a manufacturing hub for their global requirements. Manufacturers will move towards a higher level of indigenization of their key components and identify more opportunities for localization. The underlying theme has been China+1 for many companies. India is well-placed to capitalize on these opportunities with an already strong network of suppliers feeding into the large global manufacturers in India. The management and the senior leadership at the Ammann Group has been committed to this philosophy for many years now. Investments have been made in India already in this direction.

In terms of your equipment range market dynamics, what will be the new state of the affair after 2020?
Technology and lowest total costs will be the key driver. Be it in the equipment itself or even in terms of project tracking and progress management. At Ammann Group, our products are already integrated with world-leading technologies and, we also have the capability to incorporate this in the equipment we manufacture in India. Our products already offer the lowest total cost of ownership to the customer and we will look at working closely with our customers, industry associations as well as project authorities to improve this further. A key aspect impacting the lower total cost will be the increased localization of major components and parts.

How the pandemic will catalyse the R&D for the development of future machines for this industry? R&D development will have two aspects. Technologies being used globally will now be incorporated in machines being manufactured in India. Secondly these technologies will be fine-tuned to address the specific operating conditions and requirements of the Indian customers.

What kind of infrastructure upgrade initiatives should the government focus on to ensure the construction sector remains in robust health?
The Government of India under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi and Nitin Gadkari – Minister for Road, Transport & Highways and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), have already unveiled their vision for infrastructure building. The National Highways Program, the dedicated freight corridor project, the Sagarmala project etc. All these initiatives and a timely and consistent review of project investment and financing structures will ensure that the sector remains in robust health. 

What kind of digital roadmap should be designed to help in overcoming operational challenges while also delivering a competitive advantage?
A digital roadmap for overcoming operational challenges has many facets. It starts from sensor technologies in pavers to real-time condition monitoring of equipment predictive maintenance, pro-active reliability management and equipment performance parameters. Further, real-time project monitoring using drones is another aspect, which our customers will increasingly use. All of these in unison will deliver an overall competitive advantage. At Ammann India, we can incorporate many aspects of these digital features into our equipment.

What are some products driving growth for your business in the current economic cycle?
Our entire range of asphalt plants, pavers and compactors are our engines of growth. We are well-placed to contribute to the needs of our customers as well as the country as India embarks on accelerating the pace of infrastructure creation. Our Managing Director Anand Sundaresan has articulated this in his message to us internally as well as to our customers that “Together we will build a new India.”

What are the equipment financing options and technology support you have made available for your customers?
We work closely with almost all equipment financing companies, NBFCs and banks to deliver highly customized financing options to our customers. We extend this not only for capital purchases, but also towards operational expenses of spare parts. An example of this is our recently launched“ Monsoon Dhamaka”. The core aspect of this is to address the needs of our customers and we will continue to structure our options in close coordination with them.