Volvo has been a pioneer with regard to new technology. They have successfully tested many innovative technologies like the emergency braking system, lane assist, sleep detection system, autonomous truck, platooning, etc. Volvo was the first to introduce the 8×4 in the Indian mining application in 1999 and the same the most popular model in the overburden application. Mr. G.V. Rao, Vice President – Product Strategy, Brand & Marketing, Volvo Group Truck Sales – Hub India, provides his domain insights.
Brief us your product program in the tippers & tip trailers domain. What are the popular body sizes for tippers & tip trailers in various GVW ratings?
Volvo offers all models in the heavy duty segment, viz., FH, FM & FMX. FM and FH puller are compliant to the latest puller regulation to operate in the heavy haulage segment. Goods are transported with special permits for the ODC segment. The Volvo FMX is designed exclusively for the mining segment. Volvo FMX is the toughest truck Volvo has built and is best suited for extremely tough and demading overburden applications operating in harsh conditions in the open cast mines. FMX tippers comply to all statutory and safety requirements of the Directorate General of Mining Safety (DGMS).
The FMX 8×4 440 hp comes with
19.5 cum rock body (GVW – 50 tonnes) for overburden and
33 cum coal body for coal transportation.
The FMX 10×4 is offered in
480 hp with a rock body capacity of 24 cum (59 tonnes GVW)
520 hp with a rock body capacity of 26.1 cum (66 tonnes GVW)
What are the new/popular models positioned for the major construction and mining application segments?
Mining (tipper segment)
Volvo currently offers models suited for very demanding and tough overburden applications. Removal of overburden especially from greater depths of 100 mts or more requires very high performing trucks that can operate consistently with highest productivity and highest efficiency. Volvo trucks are the only trucks in India that can operate at a consistent level of performance at depths of more than 100 mts.
Volvo offers the very popular FMX 8×4 440. The FMX 8×4 has a 13 ltr engine generating 440hp and 2000Nm of torque @ 1500rpm. The FMX 10×4 is another innovation from Volvo and the first of its kind in India. The FMX 10×4 concept gives the capacity of a dumper with the agility of a tipper truck. The FMX 10×4 is the largest dump truck in India. Like the 8×4, the 10×4 is also designed for the extremely demanding overburden application where the coal production demands are high with longer contract periods.
Apart from overburden, Volvo also introduced India’s largest capacity tipper for coal transportation. The Volvo FMX 440 hp with a 33 cum body is designed for transporting coal (Both washed and raw coal) in the coal mines.
Volvo FM 440 6×4 Prime mover is offered with 3 axle trailers for Blue metal, clinker and coal transportation for long distances.
Tell us about the salient product features and USPs to bring the prospective customers to your fold, viz., how do you address the competition?
Volvo FMX tippers are best in class in productivity, fuel efficiency, safety and driver comfort. These give the best value proposition to the customers in their operations. The mining specific features of the vehicles allow it to operate round the clock. Unique site support plays a key role in customer confidence.
Salient features are:
Volvo ISHIFT: Hands on wheel – eyes on road
High performance engines
New 33 tonne rear axle
Stronger chassis
Electric parking brake
Safety cab
There are many other features like the air suspended seats; the controls on the steering wheel, the easy glance instrument cluster, etc., that are designed around the driver for comfort and productivity which appeals to our customers.
Please highlight the design, production & quality highlights of your cowl type and fully built tippers-front end and underbody types; for FBT, do you fabricate the body or go through the vendor route?
The Volvo cabs are fabricated and painted in-house at the Volvo’s Bangalore plant which meets the stringent Swedish safety norms and Indian safety norms. Volvo does not make any cowl chassis anywhere in the world. The tipper bodies are sourced from the local suppliers and mounted in the factory and delivered as fully built units. Volvo currently offers only the front end tipping model that is suitable for the applications that we operate in.
Comment on the factors in favour of choosing a tip trailer for an application. Do you supply the complete tip trailer or leave the trailer choice to customers and supply only the tractor.
Tip trailer applications are generally to transport minerals / coal over reasonably long distances over good road conditions. Volvo FM 440 6×4 Prime mover is offered with 3 axle trailers for Blue metal, clinker and coal transportation for long distances. We do not supply complete tip trailer. We however work with the tip trailers body builders for the trailers supplied to customers.
Has the tipper segment recovered from the prolonged slump? What is the market size for tippers & tip trailers in India/ and your market share in these segments? Also indicate the growth drivers.
Yes we have seen good growth in the tipper segment last year. In fact for Volvo it was a record year with a sale of 1,222 trucks resulting in a market share of around 65% in the high performance segment.
This year so far has been good and we expect good numbers this year as well.
The tipper market in India is spread over different application types both for construction and for mining. In mining as well we have tippers of varying capacities. In the segment that we operate especially the high performance segment (over 400hp category) the market size is around 2,000 units per year.
Infrastructure development has got the right attention from the government with a good outlay for infrastructure in this year’s budget. The government is quite bullish on the mining sector and we have seen good reforms coming in. Also the Government has announced increasing the Coal production from the current 550mn tonnes to 1bn tonnes by 2020. Demand for coal is directly linked to the power generation. We foresee strong growth in the coal production resulting in good demand for the tippers in the coming years.