Gomaco’s canal equipment was used to finish the Sardar Sarovar (Narmada) Canal. In India, Schwing Stetter is a distributor for Gomaco says VG Sakthikumar, Managing Director, Schwing Stetter India Private Limited.

What are some of the equipment you offer for paving?
Currently, Schwing Stetter India is selling and servicing only Gomaco, USA concrete slipform pavers of various sizes and options for concrete road paving. Besides this, we have a wide range of equipment available from Gomaco for varied paving requirement with products like curb and gutter paver, slope/ cylinder finisher, sidewalk paver, safety barrier, trimmers, irrigation channel and canal pavers, etc.

What are the controls in place in your equipment to ensure paving at a uniform forward speed?
Schwing Stetter (India) Pvt Ltd is a distributor for Gomaco in India. Gomaco equipment launched so far includes the GP-2600 concrete slipform paver with an IDBI built specifically for the Indian paving market, a two-track GP-2400 showcasing narrower width pavements and an SL-450 slope finisher for canal waterway projects.

The GP-2600 is Gomaco’s mid-range, high-production concrete slipform paver capable of paving widths from 3.66 meters (12 ft) up to 9.75 meters (32 ft). Its modular, telescoping frame extends 1.98 meters (6.5 ft) on the left side for versatility in changing paving widths. It features the exclusive G+ operating system with user-friendly controls and system diagnostics. The electronic-over-hydraulic system provides easy, accurate adjustments with an instant, controlled response for accurate paving and job-proven reliability. The GP-2600 is equipped with the Gomaco IDBI. The IDBI is Gomaco’s system for inserting dowel bars on-the-go into a concrete slab during the paving process. It is the industry’s most productive and compact system for the automatic insertion of dowel bars across a finished concrete slab.

The GP-2400 is Gomaco’s smaller paver for slipforming widths up to 7.5 meters (24 ft) wide. It’s designed for minimum machine transport width for faster, easier, cost effective job-to-job mobility. The two-track GP-2400 is equipped with a 3100 series open-front mold, vibrators and a 356 millimeter (14 in) diameter auger adjustable stainless to provide the superior Gomaco finish. The frame telescopes up to two meters (6.5 ft) on the left side for easier width changes. It also features the G+ control that is easy to operate.

Gomaco is dedicated to providing equipment for the waterways of the world and in India. Gomaco canal equipment was used to finish the Sardar Sarovar (Narmada) Canal in western India, which at the time was the world’s largest irrigation project. Canal finishing Gomaco SL-450-cylinder finisher features pin-connected sections of framework to provide fast setup time and the versatility to fit exact job requirements. It can be equipped for trimming and finishing strict tolerances even on 1:1 (45 degree) slopes, with a minimum of hand finishing.

What is your forecast on the roads and bridges segment for the year 2020? In the last four months, many new contracts were awarded and we hope that its implementation will start by the end of this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for a five trillion economy has proposed one trillion investments in infrastructure and a substantial portion of it is for roads, railways and urban infrastructure. So, we hope that this investment plan will trigger a slew of activities across India in 2020. We expect the growth to double as this investment starts happening.

How is the overall economic stimulus of Rs 20 lakh crore prove to be a game changer in the current scenario?
The various relief initiatives offered to banking systems, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are intended to improve the liquidity for the economy. The stimulus package is getting clarified and we expect the impact to start very soon. It is heartening to know that more than 90 per cent of the roads and highways projects have restarted post lockdown. We therefore expect new purchases to start with better fund availability in the system. The other relief announced for MSME and agriculture will also help the return of bank guarantee for the finished part of the work and applying force majeure clause for real estate project will be useful for the industry.