Mahindra & Mahindra has recently entered the
earthmoving equipment segment with Mahindra EarthMaster BHL. Kairas Vakaria, Business Head, Mahindra
Construction Equipment Business shared his views with Construction Insight on industry growth and his company's offerings
and future plans
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What is the current market size and growth of
Earthmoving equipment market in India? What are the growth drivers?
The Earthmoving equipment market size in India was around 60,000 units in 2010. Of these, Backhoe loaders, crawler excavators and mobile cranes accounted for nearly 78 percent of the market, followed by mobile compressors, compaction equipment and wheel loaders, which together constituted a further 17 percent. Backhoe loader accounted for 42 percent of the total market in 2010. The growth of the market will continue to be driven by the development of infrastructure and the economic growth of the country. The 11th five year plan period will end on 31st March 2012 and the 12th plan will be in force thereafter. The government is likely to more than double the infrastructure sector's expenditure to over US$1.0 trillion, which will have a positive impact on the construction equipment industry. Factors favouring the growth of the Earthmoving equipment industry include the declining availability of manual labour and sheer scale of work yet to be done in the infrastructure sector. The future demand will increasingly be created by the release of government sponsored projects. |
Mahindra has recently entered the earthmoving
equipment segment with EarthMaster BHL. How do you plan to position yourself
in this segment? What kind of response have you received so far?
The Mahindra EarthMaster has been positioned as the next generation backhoe loader that allows the earthmoving customer to Breakfree from old technology and norms. Some of the advanced features that allow breakfree performance are DITEC engine, 3rd generation hydraulics, Joystick operation, REMOTECARE and 2 years unlimited hours warranty We have seen very good momentum with the introduction of Mahindra EarthMaster backhoe loader in 2011. Customers have really appreciated the EarthMaster after feeling a change in his life in terms of increased profit, productivity, luxury of having a control over machine from home. EarthMaster has changed the perception of the Indian customers that Indian companies are not capable of making a world class product. |
What kind of demand for BHL do you foresee in
near future? How do you plan to take advantage of this oncoming demand?
Indian earthmoving customers are moving ahead with time and now are on the lookout for products that not only help them work better and faster but also help them reduce the operating cost considering the growing instability in rental rates and tough competition faced by them in securing project contracts. This situation acts as a boon to the Mahindra EarthMaster. The futuristic design, better fuel efficiency, the REMOTECARE feature and much more is aiding the growth of the EarthMaster. We truly believe that Mahindra EarthMaster will allow our customers to BREAKFREE from the old technology present in the Indian market. To take the advantage of this oncoming demand Mahindra is creating huge infrastructure of dealer network of around 50+ dealerships and around 200+ outlets across India, which is equipped with dedicated service persons and mobile service vans to ensure that customer gets service on time. Mahindra EarthMaster is supported not only by strong dealer network but also by a dedicated customer care centre. All you need to do is dial Mahindra EarthMaster toll free Helpline number: 1800-209-9979. The customer care centre is equipped to answer all your product related queries providing support in 9 regional languages. |
What value added services does Mahindra offers
to its customers?
Towards pre sales services, Mahindra allows customers to take the look and feel of Mahindra EarthMaster through dedicated demonstrations in their locality. In which, Customer and his operator can operate Mahindra EarthMaster and understand its various attributes. Towards post sales services Mahindra offers 2 days dedicated training for operators, in which operator is personally trained on various features on Machine by professional trainers. The customer is also entitled for 2 years unlimited hours of warranty with 11 free services. Mahindra also has tie ups with banks such as Mahindra Finance, Kotak Mahindra, HDFC which allows customers to easily finance the machine. |
Tell us about your
manufacturing facilities and existing capacity?
The Mahindra EarthMaster is manufactured at Mahindra's state-of-the-art facility at Chakan, Pune. Spread over 30 acres, it is built up on an area of 10000sq.m. and is scalable for future product additions. This plant uses the state-of-the-art technology in the manufacturing process. The existing capacity of plant is 200 units per month. The plant utilizes a fully automatic Robotic Welding Unit for welding purpose which ensures accuracy to give a superior strength of the structures. The plant follows set rigid quality evaluation procedures and implements the Advanced NOVA-C. Every machine rolled out is evaluated to check for appearance, welding and painting and proper functioning. It is also checked thoroughly for mechanical noises, engine noises, leakages etc ensuring that every Mahindra EarthMaster is absolutely perfect. |
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