Material handling experts exchange their opinion and views on the factors reshaping the access equipment and MHE industry, under the umbrella of innovative technologies. 

MHE industry is closely linked to the performance of manufacturing and logistics sector in India. The Indian MHE market has seen growth trend since 2016-17 on the back of increased manufacturing, logistics and ecommerce activities. After a brief period of shock from lockdowns imposed during Covid-19, the demand for MHE bounced back as penetration of ecommerce increased exponentially during the last 2 years. 

Trends and opportunities in MHE

According to Anil Lingayat, Executive Vice President and Business Head, Godrej Material Handling, “There has been an increasing shift towards clean energy power sources for material handling equipment due to operating economics, rising consciousness and government policies. Electric forklifts have increased demand as they perform in cleaner environments while also quickly catching up with diesel for outdoor work. The government is focused on manufacturing in India and logistics and has taken several initiatives which will help MHE’s industry’s growth.”

According to Vijay Kumar Singh, Business Head, “Mobile Elevated Work Platform,” Gemini Power Hydraulics Pvt. Ltd., “We are into access equipment which is employed for safe and efficient working at heights and includes a family of equipment like Boomlift, Scissor Lift, Mini Boomlift, Scissor Lift, Truck-Mounted Boomlift, and Spider Lift. The selection of an access machine is guided by applications and financial resources. It is highly encouraging that demand for access machines has increased substantially since June 2021, and the trend is expected to continue. Demands have been coming from aviation, construction, defence, facility management, manufacturing, and the power sector.

Achieving better onsite performance in MHE

Access equipment is used against falling hazards and protects human lives in addition to enhancing productivity and convenience. Therefore the machines are getting ergonomically and technologically upgraded. The machines are fitted with anti entrapment systems to guard against crushing and laser based anti collision system for safety of men, machine and material.

In this highly competitive and fast-changing world it is vital to not only have mechanised material handling systems but also aim to derive maximum productivity out of this system. Looking at the competitiveness, Anil says “With IoT, customers can stay informed about key parameters such as fleet performance, equipment health and operator behavior. Proactive and predictive maintenance is carried out ensure that there is no loss of productivity due to service concerns.” Additionally, reports on operator behavior are made available so that interventions for skill development and training can be taken. Several safety parameters are also mapped to ensure that material handling operations are carried out without any incidents.

Whereas, Vijay highlights that machine diagnostic systems are advanced and has better machine intelligence system. Machines can be remotely accessed and fault can be rectified to increase the uptime of the machine. “Machines can be fitted with active lighting systems for illuminating the surrounding areas for loading and unloading even in dark to avoid any mishap. Access machines are getting more environments friendly and in longer run there will be considerable increase in electric machine for noise and smoke free operations,” he adds.

Matching deadlines with quality

With growing demand to efficiently handle operations there’s growing demand for high equipment uptime so that deliverables are not affected. Also demand for equipment on rent to meet peak seasonal demand is on the rise. “For our rental operation, we have successfully digitised the entire customer journey right from order booking to operations at customer location. This not only provides complete transparency but also removes any delay arising from manual processing”, explains Lingayat. Moreover, with value chain digitisation Godrej integrated their service offering. Much to the delight of our customers we are now capable of providing service assistance on their digital palm.

Adding more to the discussion, Vijay underlines, in order to attain maximum uptime, access machines are fitted with diagnostic system for quick repair and efficient operations. Safety features are upgraded and machines are more highly environment friendly.

Industry’s response to increase indigenous production

As Government’s focus on auto industry and construction equipment has helped domestic players to increase their production and reduce import dependency we hope similar focus will be brought to the MHE industry. This will help level the playing field with standardisation of emission norms and safety standards for all equipment including those imported. Furthermore, incentivizing component manufacturers of MHE industry will enable Indian players to also focus on exports and generate a larger market share globally. 

“Godrej & Boyce has always had the philosophy of self-reliance under which it has imparted manufacturing capability in various sectors, MHE being one of them. Since 1960s, Godrej has been among the largest players operating in the MHE industry and has been able to retain its place despite the onslaught of foreign players for the past 10 years”, emphasies Anil. This has been possible by offering customers solutions that suit the Indian conditions. 

On the other hand, Vijay believe India is still a nascent Market and under evolution stage as far as access machines are concerned. The total market size is still too small to achieve economy of scale for indigenous production. “As the market grows, all leading global manufactures can consider setting up the assembly line in 1st phase followed up by full scale production, Vijay elucidates.

Key product offerings and the market buyers

India is a country with very high land costs, hence Godrej’s Material Handling business provides for several solutions focusing on space optimisation and increased space utilisation of warehouse space. They introduced the only twin-motor high performance Bravo electric series operates with one of the shortest turning radius in the industry. This boosts high maneuverability and space utilisation of the warehouse space. Another product innovation stemming from the market trend of vertical expansion of warehouses is the reach truck. 

Walking us through the wide offerings of Godrej, Anil says “Our range of reach trucks service loads even at 12.5 m in narrow aisles meeting cost efficiency targets of the warehouse operators. Our articulated forklift has the ability to increase storage capability of warehouse by 20 percent with the least aisle space requirement of 1.7m.” Another feature that warrants attention when talking about the Indian conditions is that articulated forklift doesn’t face issues when faced with undulated warehouse flooring in India.

While, Gemini Hydraulics’ ‘man lifting machines’ will have better safety features and environment friendly in years to come . Some of specific points were mentioned in earlier response. Moreover, he views access machines are utilised all across the industry and higher demand, and is envisaged in all major sectors like airports power, manufacturing, construction, refineries , facility management and hospitality. 

Future prospects for MHE in India

The market for access machine will grow organically in years to come. However the exponential growth will happen once government enforces a strong legislation for working at height similar to Europe and USA. India is an underserved market when it comes to MHE. It is no wonder that our logistics cost is higher than the global benchmark. Manufacturing growth, domestic consumption, exports and growth in warehousing for organised storage and logistics are the main drivers for material handling equipment in most markets. These indicators are strong for India in the foreseeable future. The market for access machine will grow organically in years to come .