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

What are the products and technologies you are planning to display at Excon? 

At Excon, Potain’s Tower Crane Flattop Model MCT135 will be launched and showcased. The 60m jib length Flattop Tower Crane has an improved tip load of 1.5 tonnes and an improved free standing height of up to 50.9 metres. The Flattop model is available in versions of 6 tonne and 8 ton.

Furthermore, our tower crane operation unit will be showcased at our stall on ground level. This includes an operator cabin connected to all 3 mechanisms (Hoisting, Slewing, and Trolley). Anyone can come and have experience of the live operation of a tower crane at EXCON. Except for the tower crane operator, it becomes challenging for many buyers to climb up the tower crane and get a real feel of the cranes. Hence, we have brought the whole tower crane setup of operation at ground level for ease of understanding the mechanism and operations of the tower crane.

What are the key features of your products and solutions that make them smarter and greener? 

As a part of our strategy for moving on from Hammerhead Models to Flattop Modular versions, like we did for MCT85 (which replaced MCi85) and MCT205 (which replaced MC205) in the past, we have now developed and started manufacturing MCT135 to replace MC125 and thus offer a better model to the market.  

The modular flattop design helps customers to save installation and dismantling time. It simplifies the storage and transportation problems of a tower crane by minimising the number of loose components. The LVF technology offers smooth operation and reduces running costs. 

Our cranes before launching undergo extensive life cycle testing at various design stages at our Manitowoc product verification Center and thus last for 20–30 years. The use of LVF technology helps reduce power consumption, making it a greener crane to use.

Please share what makes your equipment the most preferred in the segment. 

Potain has been the pioneer in India for introducing and manufacturing tower cranes in India way back in 1980. Since then, we have developed a culture of high safety and quality standards in India. Our customers trust our brand and know that Potain is a product of gold standards.

Safety plays an important role in the whole process of designing, manufacturing, installation, and operation of tower cranes at Potain. Our parent organisation, Manitowoc, has implemented various HSE policies like SLAM techniques and “The Manitowoc Way” across all our global 8 factories, including our Pune works. This process has been managed and operated very efficiently and has helped inculcate higher safety values amongst all our employees. We pass on these safety values to our stakeholders—vendors, customers, crane operators, plant and machinery teams. 

Looking at the market opportunities and the push toward infrastructural development, how do you evaluate the demand for cranes?

The market size of tower cranes has been around 350-450 tower cranes for the past 8 years. It has reached its peak during 2014 of up to 600-650 tower cranes. We expect the tower crane market to reach its 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. 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 at sites is increasing.

Also, many builders and developers are adapting to new RERA rules and regulations, and increasing the pace of construction has become a necessity for many ongoing projects. Thus, tower cranes become an important piece of equipment at the site to facilitate faster construction.