Ajay Tripathi, Managing Director, Nilang Asphalt Equipments Pvt Ltd, says that the existing slowdown is a relative phenomenon and can be tackled if pending payments to contractors is released on time.

How would you describe your experience at Excon and what products did you display?
Excon 2019 was quite rewarding in terms of communicating with customers. We were able to showcase our wide range of solutions to a global audience. At Excon, we exhibited COMBAT-120, one of the most distinctive asphalt plants in the Indian market.

This product is the right fix for the mid-range asphalt market in India. Customers can derive maximum fuel efficiency with the best asphalt mix in its class. Erecting the plant is quite easier and the installation costs too is relatively lower.

What are your key concerns and expectations for the coming year? What is your outlook for the road and construction sector in 2020?
In comparison to the growth levels the industry witnessed in 2018, there has been a slowdown. Product sales has taken a hit leading to a loss of revenue. The government needs to reinvigorate the market and ensure that the downward spiral is arrested.

All the concerned state governments and the central government should clear pending payments to the contractors so that they can invest in new equipment’s and play an important role in nation building.

What makes your solutions unique and preferable?
There are a number of features which make our product distinct. It is one of best hybrid offerings currently available in the market. The world class design ensures that installing the plant is relatively easier and economical. The customer saves even more since our products are fuel efficient, user friendly and are bundled with a life time of after sales and spares support.

How easy is it to operate the asphalt equipment plants offered by Nilang? What kind of training is required for operations?
Our Asphalt Batch Mix Plant is easy to operate thanks to a centralised control panel which comes along with a touch screen designed by Siemens. The plant can be run by a single operator, it can also be run in the auto mode and semi auto mode depending on the requirements of the asphalt mix.

Any person who has previously operated an asphalt plant can easily operate our asphalt plants. Besides that we also have a team of engineers to provide on-site training to the aspiring operator. We also provide operator training at our facility in Ahmedabad.

How do you see the emerging trends of Hybrid equipment used for this sector?
Our equipments have embraced a semi hybrid technology in terms of using fuel like Diesel/LDO/FO and different additives. Our plants are also designed to make good use recycled asphalt besides that customers are free to use different types of bitumen as required.

Ajay Tripathi, Managing Director, Nilang Asphalt Equipments Pvt Ltd