With NHAI planning to invest around US $ 250 billion in road projects over the next 5 years, many new opportunities are also expected to open up for cranes very soon.

Anil Bhatia,
Vice President, Sales & Marketing, TIL Limited

  TIL Limited is engaged in the design, manufacture and marketing of a comprehensive range of material handling, lifting, port equipment and road building solutions in India and select overseas markets. Anil Bhatia, Vice President– Sales & Marketing, TIL, speaks to Subhajit Roy. Excerpts:

Mr Bhatia, could you update us on the latest developments at TIL?
We have recently introduced the TMS 855 – a Truck Crane, with a 41.3 meter boom, in the 55 tonne category where we were not present earlier. We have also launched the TM 825 in the 25-tonne category, with the longest boom in its class, at 32.7 meters. Our most recent launch is the 80-tonne TMS 880M, with a longer boom of 43.8 meters. Our portfolio of cranes includes Truck Cranes (with capacities from 25 T to 80 T), Rough Terrain Cranes (from 20 T to 75 T) and higher capacity All Terrain Cranes (of up to 450 T capacity). We also offer Industrial Cranes of upto 18 tonnes capacity and a hydraulic Pick & Carry Crane in the 10–15-tonne category. Domestically, we are acknowledged as market leaders in Mobile Cranes and ReachStackers. The latter, we are also exporting to the Asia-Pacific region since about two years. We also have on offer a range of globally acclaimed crushing and screening solutions and Double Barrel Hot Mix Asphalt Plants (HMAP) under strategic alliance with ASTEC Inc. of USA.

How do you look at the partnerships?
We have very healthy and mutually gainful relations with our overseas technology partners. We market a range of Wheeled and Lattice Boom Crawler Cranes, as well as the Grove range of Rough Terrain, Truck-mounted, All-Terrain and Industrial Cranes, from the Manitowoc Crane Group, USA, for customers in India and neighbouring countries. We also have an exclusive partnership with Hyster – the global leader in Big Forklift Trucks and Warehousing solutions – for marketing a comprehensive range of high-capacity Forklift Trucks, Empty and Laden Container Handlers and ReachStackers to customers in India, Nepal and Bhutan. TIL’s extensive product portfolio also includes a range of globally acclaimed crushing and screening solutions and Hot Mix Asphalt Plants (HMAP) under strategic alliance with Astec Inc. of USA.

What are your expansion plans for Kharagpur facility?
Our factory at Changual, Kharagpur, is absolutely state-of-the-art, with excellent rail and road connectivity. The factory is equidistant from Kolkata and the steel city of Jamshedpur and likewise from the two maritime ports at Kolkata and Haldia. The plant is ERP-enabled and all functions are system-integrated for smooth business operations. There is a lot of scope for aggressive capacity utilization at our Kharagpur facility.

What is your projection for 2017?
With the expected revival of infrastructure sector growth, crane sales should rise as well. With NHAI planning to invest around US $ 250 billion in road projects over the next 5 years, many new opportunities are also expected to open up for cranes very soon. The ReachStacker market, driven by the containerisation of inland freight movement, should benefit from the ambitious Sagarmala project. We can also see good traction in recent sectoral developments in oil, steel, cement, etc. All these combined together should give us the desired growth in our business space.