ZF exhibited a diverse range of product offerings for construction machinery and material handling at EXCON 2017 held in Bangalore in December. The reputed German supplier boasts of strong technical expertise & depth in developing and producing drives and axles for construction machinery.
At EXCON, the company showcased its new Ecomix II (CML 12) transmission for transit mixer vehicles of up to 12 cubic meter capacity along with driveline technology for wheel loaders. On the electric drive side, it presented its eTRAC GPE 25 drive system for compact off-highway vehicles, trailers and auxiliary equipment. The well-proven ZF driveline system for electric forklifts has been optimized and is available for compact equipment. Driveline technology for material handling and electrical pallet trucks were also displayed.
“EXCON was the perfect platform for us to showcase our well-established power-shift driveline technology for construction machinery, reducing emissions significantly and already fulfilling the new Tier-4 emission norms. Manufacturing axles and transmissions in Coimbatore, we are also committed to the “Make in India” campaign. On top of this, we wanted to talk about Intelligent Mechanical Systems and how ZF is able to enhance the existing mechanical drivelines with electrified components, assistance- or safety functions like GPS, radar, sensor and camera systems. This is how our systems expertise will enable vehicles to see>think>and act”, said Mr. Alexander Eisner, Head of Product Communications for Off-Highway Systems at ZF Friedrichshafen AG.
Construction tippers
Ride comfort in commercial vehicles is considerably enhanced by suspension technology and cabin damping. On display at the booth were the ZF cab dampers that provide greater safety, comfort and stability. Additionally, products on suspension technology like torque rods, ball joints and axial tie rods were also on display.
Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Suresh KV, Country Head, ZF India, said: “It gave us great pleasure to be displaying ZF’s top class technology for construction tippers, construction machinery and material handling in one of South Asia’s largest construction equipment exhibitions. ZF is a serious player in the Indian market, and we have been able to make the best of our proximity to customers with steadily increasing localization content and working closely with the Indian supplier base to meet the ZF global quality standards for both the domestic and export markets.”
ZF has made good inroads into the Indian construction equipment space and works with leading OEMs like Tata Hitachi, Leeboy and Bull Machines. Apart from making steady progress in the domestic market, it also utilises its manufacturing base in Coimbatore to cater to the requirement of customers in the Middle East and Africa.
ZF India’s business in the construction machinery segment saw a growth of nearly 35 per cent in 2016 and closed with a big double-digit growth in 2017. With the Government investing heavily on infrastructure development, the company is confident of maintaining its good run this year too.