The reputation of our brand will bring the clients to us. Marini is well-established in the Indian market with very high-quality product offering.

Joachim Blatt,
Business Unit Managing Director, Marini S.p.A

  Seeing the increasing opportunities in the Indian road building sector, France-based Fayat Group has set up a manufacturing facility in Sanand, January last year with an investment of 16 million Euros. The new manufacturing base strengthens the position of the company in India, informs Joachim Blatt, Business Unit Managing Director, Marini S.p.A.

Marini is one of the global majors in the production of asphalt plants. Could you tell us about your business activities in India?
In India, we have been offering Marini mixing plants for years. Today, India is a growing market and understanding its potential, we have strengthened our presence in this market by setting up a world-class production unit in Gujarat. Considering how aggressive the Indian market is, setting up a shop in India for localised production was imperative, which is bound to increase our competitiveness in the industry.

What is the percentage of localisation?
Our plants are known for its reliability; however, the Indian supply base hasn’t been tested yet, so we haven’t localised as much as we would have liked to. Therefore, most of the key components are still of European origin and few are sourced locally from international manufacturers stationed in India. So, we stand at around 60 per cent localisation now.

There are few players who are dominating the market segment in India. What will make people come to you?
The reputation of our brand will bring the clients to us. Marini is known for reliability, performance, and productivity, with a high level of equipment quality. Customers seeking these features are with us and we are hopeful of attracting more. As I said earlier, having set up production facility here to be closer to the Indian contractors will result in the costs coming down by around 25-30 per cent, thereby, taking import duty out of the equation, hitherto a big turn –off for end users. We, therefore, look forward to increasing our reach and brand which will only grow in the Indian segment.

Fayat offers a complete range of products for road lifecycle. Are all the products available in Indian market?
Not yet. Presently we are supplying Fayat range of mixing plants. Products for road maintenances are already popular from Fayat in India. There are other products like compactors, stabilisers, recyclers and pavers which will be brought to the Indian market once we have adequate after-sales support to cater to the entire spectrum.

Which country is most promising to you?
India is one of the promising markets for us due to its huge potential in the infrastructural segment. Increasing population and rapid socio-economic development will spur the demand for better road connectivity in India.

Could you name companies who’ve placed orders with you for your localised mixing plant?
In India, we have been able to serve our existing clientele through the supply of high quality plants from our factory in Sanand. Advance technology plants to GR Infra for their several projects, HG Infra, EKK etc., are some of the other customers whose supplies are in the pipeline.

Are you looking at increasing your presence in India?
We have our sales team who are doing a fantastic job. However, we are looking for potential partners to penetrate the market further.