As the government of India has focused on building concrete roads, Wirtgen India is bullish on concrete paving machine business.

Frank G Betzelt,
Managing Director, Wirtgen Group with Ramesh Palagiri, Managing Director and CEO, Wirtgen India at the company’s stall in Bauma Conexpo India 2016

  “The share of Wirtgen India in our group’s business is growing by around 10 per cent year-on-year. We have almost tripled our revenues in India during the last 2 years. With state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Bhandgaon near Pune and increased distribution network in 21 locations, India has become a strategically important market for our group’s business,” said Frank G Betzelt, Managing Director, Wirtgen Group while acknowledging the increasing importance of Indian market in the global map. 
“We expect the revenue of around Rs 400 crore this year,” informs Ramesh Palagiri, Managing Director and CEO, Wirtgen India.

A mixed opportunity
As the government of India has focused on building concrete roads, Wirtgen India is bullish on concrete paving machine business, Betzelt said.   However, Palagiri observes, “Around 30 per cent of the roads which are built today, are concrete. So almost 70 per cent of roads are still bituminous which is reflected in our business too. Though we have sold more than 100 slipform pavers in 2016, our business for the Vögele has not come down. We will have a mix of both as most of the concrete roads are majorly driven by NHAI whereas most of the major state road projects are bituminous.”

Wirtgen at Bauma Conexpo India 2016
At Bauma Conexpo India 2016 in Delhi from December 12 to 15, the Wirtgen Group exhibited a representative cross-section of its product portfolio as well as leading technologies of the Wirtgen, Vögele, Hamm and Kleemann brands.

With the compact milling machine W 130 CF, the slipform paver SP 64 and the texture curing machine TCM 180, a total of three Wirtgen machines made their debut in India. In addition, seven other products from the cold milling, concrete paving and soil stabilising sectors were also presented.

With the new SUPER 1400 and SUPER 1403, Vögele unveiled its all-Indian road pavers for pave widths up to 7.3 metres. Both pavers come with ErgoBasic which allows easy paver operation by simplifying operators’ work and providing comfort and ease.

Compaction technology giant Hamm displayed the 11-tonne 311 compactor and the 9-tonne HD 99 tandem roller. Both machines are produced in Pune by Wirtgen India, and combine premium German technology with a systematic focus on the Indian market. In addition, HD 12 VV tandem roller from the HD CompactLine, the 3520 heavy compactor and the GRW 280-15 rubber-wheeled roller from the popular Hamm brand were also presented.

With three exhibits from the innovative EVO series, Kleemann showcased a cross-section of the mobile crusher and screen range: the MC 110 R EVO MOBICAT jaw crusher the MOBICONE MCO 9 EVO cone crusher and the MOBISCREEN MS 703 EVO screening plant.

“MOBISCREEN MS 703 EVO screening plant is the group’s first global product ‘Made in India’ produced outside Germany which reflects the manufacturing excellence of our Pune plant,” Palagiri proudly said.

Kleemann will be the game changer
Replying to a question regarding the contribution of 4 brands on Wirtgen India’s business, Palagiri said, “Today Wirtgen contributes to almost 50 per cent of our revenue followed by Vögele, Hamm and Kleemann. However, in the long run, we see maximum potential in Kleemann range of products.”