In an exclusive interview, Rajinder Raina, General Manager, Marketing, Escorts Construction Equipment Ltd., emphasises that infrastructure development stands at a crossroad from where the recovery will start and gain momentumIndia being a developing country has a huge potential in terms of infrastructure development. So where do you see earthmoving equipment market in India in coming years?The infrastructure development in India, though very slow right now, is bound to regain its growth trajectory. The huge potential of infrastructure development has an uncertainty of timing but not that of the likelihood of fructification. It is at best delayed. The current situation is at place from where the recovery will start and gain momentum.What kind of competition you face in this market?There are different types of operators in the market, and every company has to define its product positioning. The fact that Indian market place is price sensitive can’t be denied, and therefore the competition in Indian market is the most challenging on the price front. Technological advancement is increasingly getting paid for. Reliability attracts premium, and engine exhaust norms and safety features are getting implemented. This is welcome as it leads to quality competition. The fact that a host of European and Japanese players are getting increasingly aggressive establishes this fact. The competition from Chinese players can’t be wished away. Products need to offer value proposition to beat the “low price” tag. Customers will pay for reliability, low owning, operating cost and high uptime through quality service because the projects come with deadlines. Time has a premium like never before; therefore, price is not going to be the only attribute; other deliverables too will get due weightage.What are the different types of earthmoving equipment you offer and their specialty?Our major earthmoving equipment today is backhoe loader. Escorts has recently launched DIGMAX II, the upgraded version of its backhoe loader. This product delivers very high production, low cost per unit material handled, reliability and operator comfort which give the owner competitive advantage. Multiple options and variants help customers select application specific, customised machine. It conforms to latest emission norms. It is the only BHL that has an equipment-monitoring system with self-fault diagnosis and GPRS with some additional safety features.We also offer wheel loaders of 3-tonne and 5-tonne class. The loaders supplied during the past 1 year have delivered performance matching the beat in class.What kind of innovations are you making in your product?Our product innovations are based on the requirements at the ground level and the customers’ voice. The processes and norms at project sites are changing fast, and the equipment has to keep pace on the technology. Safety for one has assumed considerable significance and the emission norms. Time lines on projects ask for high reliability and uptime of the equipment. Owing to cost competitiveness, the equipment has to be highly productive as well as fuel efficient as the cost of fuel is going up. Our engineering is oriented to deliver on all these fronts through matching engineering innovations and changes.What kind of engine do you prefer for your earthmoving equipment and why?Engines for heavy duty, production machines have to match globally evolving norms. BSIII norms and fuel efficiency are the major drivers. We prefer engines that deliver best fuel economy without compromising on the productivity. We select engines that are loaded less than 75-80 per cent on the max duty. This ensures longevity of the engine and abuse at the work site that is inevitable. The other major selection criterion is the availability of service and parts. Given our sizeable volumes, we are able to get some changes incorporated in the engine assembly to get perfect fit for the machine.What is your market share currently? Are you expecting any increase in the same?Backhoe loaders are the maximum selling machines in India at present. Currently, we have a single-digit market share as we are going about in a planned/focussed manner rather than spreading too thin. DIGMAX II is the focus product for Escorts right now, and for achieving our targets, we are building up the sales and after-sales infrastructure to cater to the volumes to be achieved through double-digit market share targeted within next 2 years. For achieving that we have the products that are fast gaining acceptability because they come with total brand Escorts commitment.