There has been a paradigm shift in the industry in terms of contract duration and the output quality over the last decade. With the coal ministry introducing the requirement of (-) 100 mm and Coal India offering contracts for three- to five-year period, contractors have come up with new set of priorities in procurement of their crushers.

Today, the customer is looking forward to procuring crushers which are mobile with low overhead investments on civil structural. This allows the customer to relocate their machinery in a short period without making any significant unrecoverable capital expenditure (capex).

Subsequently, today’s procurement managers are focusing more on cost per tonne than the overall cost of the crusher. With reduction in the period of contracts, there has been a substantial decrease in the tonne crushed per project therefore to make a project viable it is important for customers to consider crushers with low per tonne cost, says Shantanu Banerjee, Country Head, Hazemag India Pvt Ltd.

Lastly, the government mandate of (-) 100 mm has stimulated clients to only consider crushers with a proven record of output in the prescribed sizing.

Value plays long term
Although the Indian market has traditionally been price sensitive, there is changed mindset among handful of customers to focus on value over cost. Cost always wins in a sprint whereas value performs better in a marathon.

With the industry restructuring towards shorter contracts, it is important to understand the importance of both value and cost.

“Fundamentally, it is important for customers to look for lower cost per ton to make any project viable. However, making higher capex for a valued machine which will serve you for multiple contracts, is also crucial. This may be calculated by the life cycle cost of the crusher. Striking this balance will help clients enjoy better returns from projects in the longer run,” Banerjee said.

Latest offering
Hazemag crushers being PLC operated are simple to use without any dedicated operator. This significantly reduces its operations cost and requires limited maintenance. This helps in customers achieving higher up-time and dependability. Furthermore, the need for minimal civil structural and the ability to work on a natural hopper system reduces the overhead expenses on the machine. The modular design of the machine allows us to commission, decommission or re-commission a crusher within five to seven days on site.

Making procurement effective
“Our USPs allow customers to achieve significantly lower per ton cost than other crushers available in the market. With the machine being PLC controlled has proven to have higher operational efficiency in comparison to an operator-controlled machine,” according to Banerjee.

The ability to sense any un-crushable on the crushing point and the crusher coming to a halt by itself, reduces undue damage on the picks and increases its operational life.

The ability of the crusher working with no or minimal civil structural allows it to be truly mobile in nature. The customer can relocate the machinery without having to make dead investments like a hopper and retaining wall. These features make our offering not just cost effective but also help customers achieve higher operational effectiveness.

‘Make in India’: pulling down machinery cost
Initiatives like ‘Make in India’ have gone a long way in reducing the cost of machinery being offered. Boosting the domestic manufacturing ecosystem has helped companies reduce their dependency on imported components. This has helped significantly in allaying procurement cost by reducing the freight and duties paid on imported products.

Additionally, introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has helped in realising the
2 per cent which was lost under previous indirect taxation system. This has helped companies price their products in a more competitive manner and has helped customers procure quality products at a lower cost.

The government mandate of (-) 100 mm has stimulated clients to only consider crushers with a proven record of output in the prescribed sizing.
Shantanu Banerjee, Country Head, Hazemag India Pvt Ltd.