“The industry has gone down by 17 per cent during 2012 – 2013. Fortunately for us, we are positive from the last year,” says Rohit Punjabi, Assistant Director, Strategy and Marketing Department, LiuGong India

LiuGong India, at EXCON, has launched CLG836BSIII wheeled loader, a new machine in the 3-tonne category. The machine is specifically imported from China to meet the demand of Indian market. In a conversation with Subhajit Roy, Rohit Punjabi talks about new launches as well as about Indian market for the coming days.

Could you brief us about the features and applications of newly launched wheeled loader?
LiuGong is a well established player in the wheeled loader segment. Our earlier models in the wheeled loader segment, 835BSIII and 856BSIII, are well accepted in the market. However, we were facing some problems with the engines; hence we changed the engine. The existing model is actually a very premium product internationally. The engine in this machine is the major difference. There are some features which are different; however, transmission is same.

What are its benefits?
It will be cheaper to operate, and fuel consumption is much lower. The 836BSIII wheel loader is equipped with fixed front differential for maximum traction and reduced tyre wear. Its smooth parallel linkage configuration offers a full 40-degree turn tipping load of 7,200 kg. The cabin design offers excellent visibility to the bucket edge and surrounding job site. Above all, the 836BSIII has a powerful, Weichai & Deutz engine and offers 92 kw rated power that produces 100 kN of breakout force to aggressively dig depth and fast into any heap of loose materials.

How do you look at the acceptance of this range of product in the Indian market?
Today, there is hardly any premium product in the 3-tonne category loader market. We are trying to push 835BSIII against the competition because 835BSIII is a completely different machine. It’s very difficult for us to fight on price and everything. Hence, we have to get the machine where we can actually fight with them. As long as loader is there, growing acceptance will be there. There would not be any issues.

Is the loader market growing?
Yes, it’s growing. From August to October, it has again grown by 10 – 12 per cent; and October to November looks very bright for us.

Any particular segment that attracted you to launch this product?
Well, there is a big segment which is RMC and mostly untapped. In RMC, the customers use backhoe loaders, but these are not sufficient.

There are green concepts everywhere; what’s your thought?
Green concept is a good. The government is implementing and it’s a rule that you cannot bypass. We have lots of competition coming from a lot of Chinese manufactures who are not complaint with such regulations, but in India still you can pass it. Though we are not doing anything like that, we are going exactly according the rules.

When you talk about industry, you had a very positive 2013, at least for the last couple of months. Monsoon was a little bit flat; but as a whole, is the scenario same for the industry?
No, the industry has gone down by 17 per cent during 2012 – 2013. Excavators, backhoe loaders are down. Fortunately for us, we are positive from the last year. Major players who play in excavator are down. Excavator came down from 13,500 to 10,000. I think they will end up 10,500 by the end of this year. Loaders also came down but we did not get the impact much.