We have started a project for Vögele asphalt pavers 6-metre class which will be produced at our Pune facility commencing third quarter next year. We will be localising production of new range of jaw crusher.
Palagiri, Managing Director and CEO, Wirtgen India

W irtgen Group, the German specialist for road building and road rehabilitation equipment, has strengthened its position in the Indian market over the years. It has also emerged as a prominent player in the crushing and screening domain. Now, the company is focusing more in to localisation. In an interview with B2B Purchase, Ramesh Palagiri, Managing Director and CEO of Wirtgen India speaks about the industry scenario and his company’s roadmap.

Could you brief us about the products displayed at EXCON 2015?
We have represented all the four brands namely Wirtgen, Vögele, Hamm and Kleemann at Excon 2015. Apart from launching our Kleemann Screen MS 953 manufactured in Pune facility, we have displayed the complete range of slipform pavers, Wirtgen cold milling machines, Wirtgen cold recycler cum soil stabiliser WR 240 and for the first time – the 20 tonnes soil compactor 3520.

How do you look at the current market scenario vis-à-vis that of the last year?
The market especially the road building sector has been very upbeat – there is a positive vibe all around. Our calendar year 2015 is promising. So far we have grown by almost 30 per cent. Indian market is about handling 2,500 compactors machines and as of now we have around 30 per cent market share in that. But the compactor market demand is virtually flat for the last 5 years.

Road transport minister Nitin Gadkari talked about 40-kms of road target in future. How do you look at this?
think the targets are very ambitious. But the ministry is taking a lot of steps to remove the bottlenecks and definitely it will achieve its targets to a great extent.

The minister also pointed out the lack of soil stabilisation equipment in Bihar wherein aggregates are transported from distant Jharkhand or Chattisgarh to meet road building requirement. I wish to mention that our two soil stabilisers are already working in Bihar. His mention also alerts us to seriously look at our product line to continue our success.

Will you be able to meet such expectations from the production and get benefited?
Yes, I think availability of aggregates is a challenge, but not very difficult. The question is: where the aggregates are available? Aggregates quarries will not be available at project site. That is where the new types of technologies and solutions can help to meet this challenge.

What is your update on the “Make in India” front?
In screens and pavers we have localised almost 70 per cent today. We have started a project for Vögele asphalt pavers 6-metre class which will be produced at our Pune facility commencing third quarter next year. We will also localise production of new range of jaw crusher which is displayed at Excon 2015.

Wirtgen is known for its ‘German’ quality. How the “Made in India” products will match to such quality?
Wirtgen is a 100 per cent subsidiary and we don’t make all products in all countries. We would like to make products where we have volumes and then they should be shipped in other places. In India, we have volumes, economies of scales and vendors to support the existing production plans.

Our manufacturing facility in Pune is at par with our German production units. We offer mix products range from Germany and India – a very few can differentiate the products. Though it’s a big challenge to get consistent quality from vendors in India, I think the same be achieved by partnering with them.

What is the capacity consumption as of now from the Pune facility?
In compactors, this year we will touch around 650 machines for global consumption. In the current plant we can go up to 1,000 machines in a year. We can go up to 500 screens a year whereas in pavers the figure will be around 200. We will be exporting screens and compactors to Indonesia and South Mexico from Pune facility soon.

So, what will be your prime focus area?
The focus area where we would like to grow is crushing and screening. It’s a huge market and we will be able to cater the demand. We are focusing on the new product lines in crushing and screening. Recycling technology should be another area in focus. Next new products we are planning to launch will be new range of pavers and milling machines in Indian market