Abhijit R Shinde, Head – Sales and Marketing, Escorts Construction Equipment Limited, informs that ECEL is bringing more value to its products by incorporating advanced and rugged features for multi-application capabilities, backed by reliable service and customer support.

How do you see Atmanirbhar Bharat to impact your sector?
It has been six years since the ‘Make in India’ initiative was introduced and the manufacturing industry was hoping for the positive impact with the announcement of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ program. The fundamental difference between Make in India program and Atmanirbhar Bharat Program is the realization that India can’t control what the world buys; therefore, we should focus on our strengths which are manufacturing, human resources, big size consumer market. Before convincing the world to buy from us, the government has put emphasis on people to buy from local brands. 

We are hopeful that the construction equipment (CE) industry will recover with this initiative taken by the government. Escorts Ltd has always contributed in the growth of Indian infrastructure. Escorts is continuously putting efforts in the development of new and more advanced products to contribute towards India’s growth.

In terms of your equipment range market dynamics, what will be the new state of the affair after 2020?
Indian CE industry is facing numerous headwinds as a result of an economic slowdown in construction activity. The industry is expected to degrow in FY 202021 mainly due to complete washout in the first quarter due to Covid-19 pandemic. 

Although the government is taking positive steps uncertainty still exists. Escorts’ strong presence in ‘pick and carry’ segment is serving the country with a range of Hydra Series (conventional cranes) and F Series (safe cranes), range from 8 T capacity to 35 T capacity. To cater towards infrastructure and road development, Escorts is providing a complete range of backhoe loaders with Digmax II and Jungli models. We are also present in road compaction segment with a complete range of soil and tandem compactors.

In process of giving end to end solution, Escorts Ltd has recently launched Whiteline range of premium products with latest features like additional safety, operator comfort and integrated telematics. The product launched under Whiteline series is currently targeted to address the higher performance demands of fleet owners and corporate customers.

How the pandemic will catalyse the R&D for the development of future machines for this industry? Over the last few years, technology included in construction equipment has developed at a rapid pace. This is the right time for companies to invest further in R&D. Many developments are being made or are about to be introduced in the CE industry. Innovation centers are geared up to make sure that we are listening to the market as much as possible and offer products which meets customer demand. 

Going forward, the use of digital platforms will be the key of success. With electronics and telematics means, the customer will be able to monitor the work performance better. Escorts understands the need of adapting to technology in the current situation. Our R&D team is consistently working on clever innovation thought process and also gearing up for BSIV emission norms.

What kind of infrastructure upgrade initiatives should the government focus on to ensure the construction sector remains in robust health?
In the current scenario, there is mayhem on infrastructure investments, the government is struggling wherein execution of projects has either become difficult or contracts have been rendered completely incapable of being executed. Though many actions have already been taken by the govt and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to address the overall macroeconomic risk, a major challenge is still to ensure non-failure 

of the PPP model. The government may have to grapple with the challenge of striking the right balance between procurement regulations that do not promote bilateral renegotiations of contracts and the extent of vulnerability which has brought force majeure risk into effect. A development that was neither foreseen by private investors nor by the authority.

What are some of the products driving growth for your business in the current economic cycle? Escorts is the first Indian company to have designed backhoe loaders indigenously. Our product development team has utilized extensive consumer insight and feedback to develop a product which is built to withstand India’s rough terrain and heavy usage. Considering the needs of the Indian market, Escorts has two models in BHL segment Digmax II and Jungli. Both variants come with 76 HP and 90 HP engine option. 

Here are the models introduced by Escorts:
Escorts Digmax II – Digmax II is powered by reliable fuel efficient Kirloskar engine which comes in two options of 76 HP and 90 HP. Digmax II also comes with 2WD and 4WD options. 

Escorts Jungli – Escorts has taken its learning from tractor engines to build the most fuel-efficient, compact, brute power engine for Jungli machine which consumes less fuel compared to other BHL machines in India. This machine has unique features which include heavy duty boom, heavy duty loader arm, hard strata bucket. Escorts Jungli comes with 76 HP and 90 HP options along with 2WD and 4WD options respectively.   

In case of road equipment, Escorts is present in the market with its range of soil compactors, EC5250 which is a 10 T category soil compactor, EC5511 XP which is 11 T category soil compactor, EC3212 which is 12 T category soil compactor. Further, Escorts is also into tandem compactors with model HD85 which is 9 T category tandem compactor and EC3664 which is 3 T category tandem compactor. 

What are the equipment financing options and technology support you have made available for your customers?
Escorts is in the Indian market for many decades and we are on healthy business terms with almost every financial institute. We also have strong tie-ups with all major government banks and NBFCs.