JCB India Ltd. started its operations in 1979 with the introduction of Backhoe Loader, the most widely used construction equipment at Indian construction sites. JCB India, a leading Earthmoving and Construction Equipment Manufacturer in India, today manufactures a wide range of world-class equipment, not only for India, but also for Global markets. Mr. Jasmeet Singh, Head – Corporate Communications and External Relations, JCB India Ltd., shares his observations.
Excerpts:
Can you give us an overview of the product program and the popular models in the earthmoving segment positioned for the applications?
JCB India introduced its first product, the Backhoe Loader close to four decades ago and has since expanded its product range to 50 different models in eight product categories, i.e., Backhoe Loaders, Tracked Excavators, Wheel Loaders, Compactors, Skid Steer Loaders, Telehandlers, Super Loader and Generators.
Backhoe Loader continues to be most popular construction machine in India and JCB offers the widest range with 7 different variants – 2DX, 3DX, 3DX Xtra, 3DX Super, 4DX, 2DXL, and 3DXL. This range is developed to suit different user segments for different applications. JCB Backhoe Loader is extensively used in applications like plantation, construction of rural roads, fibre optics laying, truck unloading, and tractor trolley loading.
We recently introduced three world class Made in India product lines in the Material Handling segment – the Telehandlers, the Skid Steer Loader and the Super Loaders. The rise in the demand for safe and reliable products at work sites is primarily driving the demand for our material handling range.
We have also introduced the large range of Wheeled Loading Shovels as we see potential in the Mining and large infrastructure projects. Our largest Wheeled Loader, the 455ZX is a Made in India product which is manufactured at our Pune plant and is also exported to various countries around the globe.
We launched seven new exciting products at the recently held Bauma Conexpo 2016 at Gurugram. Many of these products are in the higher capacity segment across different product categories.In the excavators segment, we launched in the range of 3T Mini Excavator to 37T Hydraulic Excavator. These world class machines are targeted towards the large construction, earthmoving and quarrying projects.
Backhoe loaders & excavators corner 70% market share in CE equipment domain – what are the factors influencing such a trend in the local market?
Backhoe loader is a universal, versatile product which is used for diverse applications. It is invariably the first machine to be deployed at a construction site for various jobs like digging, clearing, loading, etc. The multi functionality is what makes it a popular equipment.
However, with infra projects’ getting bigger in size, the demand for specialised machinery is on a rise. Backhoe despite its versatility has its own limitations when compared to a large excavator; and hence we foresee a strong growth potential for large Excavators in the coming years.
Moreover, with several big projects announced and the recent union budget focusing on Irrigation, Roads, Highways, Affordable Housing etc, the infra segment is likely to be in focus for a longer time; and this augurs well for the large machines like Excavators.
At the Bauma Conexpo India in December16, we launched 7 new products and many of them are in heavy category. In the excavator segment, we launched the 22 T, 30T and 37T models and in the wheeled loader, we have introduced the new 5.5 T payload model. We have the extensive range of models in both backhoe loader and excavator segment to meet most of the application requirements.
TCO becomes critical for production machines like backhoe and excavators. In this regard, what support is provided to keep the downtime of these critical machines to a minimum?
There are multiple aspects that need to be looked at to ensure that customers derive maximum output from our machines. The first and foremost is the inherent concept and design of the machine. At JCB, we manufacture products to One Global Quality which means products manufactured in India can be used in any part of the world. The Made in India JCB machines are exported to over 70 countries which include developed markets as well.
Over the years, we have also set up the largest distribution network in the industry with 63 dealers and 650 outlets. These far-reaching outlets provide the vital parts and product support to customers. Dealerships and outlets get parts support from four strategically setup warehouses at Pune, Chennai, Faridabad and Kolkata.
We have invested in the technology and introduced the state-of-the-art telematics technology called JCB Livelink, which helps JCB customers remotely monitor and manage their machines. It maximizes the productivity of the machines by providing real time alerts on Service, Operation and Security benefits to the machines owners.