We design our products and solutions to make our customers more successful

01 Jan 2018 CW Staff

Equipment demand and growth: As construction activities gain pace in the country, demand is likely to grow for high-productivity equipment, though traditional machines will also maintain their space. Equipment like excavators, motor graders, wheel loaders, paving machinery, etc, is expected to experience higher demand primarily in the road segment. Housing is also likely to bounce back and backhoes, mini-excavators, skid steers, etc, will find favour there.

Big opportunity sectors: India is a developing country; with respect to our population, there is tremendous potential to develop infrastructure. The government has focused on all the segments mentioned above as they are important for the country's growth. In terms of big-ticket spends, roads, railways, housing and irrigation offer a major opportunity. Caterpillar has a broad range of construction and mining equipment, diesel engines and gas turbines and has appropriate solutions for these sectors. Our customers are developing the world - they could not do it without our engines, equipment and assistance.

Technological advancements: During Excon this year, we launched many new products, such as Cat 426F2, 424B2 backhoe loaders, Hindustan 2021D wheel loader and Cat 336D2 excavator as smart iron, which reinforces our plans for the construction equipment sector. We also plan to provide further impetus to our presence in the energy and transportation sectors. Globally, Caterpillar has a major presence in the energy and transportation sectors, especially in oil and gas, renewable energy, etc, with its wide range of products such as draglines, drills, pipe layers, marine power systems and electric and gas-based engines of various capacities.

Fuel savings and operator-efficiency: We are committed to our customers' success and design our products and solutions to make them more successful by using Caterpillar products rather than products from any other competitors. Cat Connect solutions offer various technologies and services to help our customers maximise machine output and increase fuel-efficiency.

“Our growth is going to be synonymous with industry growth.”

With the government’s focus on construction and infrastructure, Caterpillar India is positive about opportunities coming along. Vivekanand Vanmeeganathan, Managing Director & Country Head; Andy Dhanraj, Sales Director, Global Construction and Infrastructure; and Murali Achutaraman, National Accounts Manager, Global Construction and Infrastructure, from Caterpillar India, share more…

Demand drivers: Two years ago, there were a lot of announcements from the government, but not much activity on the ground. However, since then, there has been activity, which has given a lot of confidence to contractors and customers. Today, we are seeing all announcements translate into opportunities. For instance, in terms of roads, 30 km per day is real data. So we have been witnessing that a lot of customers are buying more machines to meet this target.

Company’s growth rate: ICEMA launched a report at Excon’s inaugural session, which typically looked at the industry outlook. Our growth is going to be synonymous with industry growth. The report pointed to a 10-12 per cent CAGR year-on-year for the next five years. The pipeline of projects awarded is typically long term with a natural gestation period attached to it. So the report is conservative and will say that the industry will be worth Rs 8 billion in 2020 and then continue to grow at 12-15 per cent till 2023. However, I would say that even with a conservative estimate, the industry will be approximately Rs13 billion by 2025 because of a 12-15 per cent growth rate. India is definitely positioning itself to be the world’s third largest construction equipment industry when it happens.

Innovative technology: Let’s take the wheel loader, for example. It scoops the materials and dumps it into the loader and the haul. Each time the wheel loader scoops, there should be some record of how much is it lifting and how much it is pouring down; in the case of coal, each kilogram matters. We have a technology inbuilt in the machine; when the operator scoops the material, it automatically calculates how much it is lifting and pouring. In another instance, let’s consider an excavator and even motor grader. The key success of a motor grader job in a road contract is how the customer can save on cost. Caterpillar offers a technology called Accugrade in our machine.

This helps maintain a uniform thickness for every material that is laid. Thus, the customer can be sure that he will use the material, just as required. One does not have to waste money and energy to refill, redo, undercut or overcut. Apart from these, there are many other technologies that our machines are equipped with. Caterpillar offers job site solutions, which increase fleet utilisation, control costs and use capital more efficiently. Our best application experts work with customer teams for designing and executing site-specific plans to improve productivity, manage the equipment lifecycle, enhance safety and sustainability, and optimise cash flow.

Many customers are looking for a collaborative partner to help them achieve the most efficient and productive operation possible. 'To be a true partner, Caterpillar India is developing not only products and technologies, but a solutions-based organisation that can operationally partner with our customers to help them realise that value,' says Amit Bansal, Head-Sales & Marketing Building Construction Products, Caterpillar India, as he shares more... Equipment demand and growth: As construction activities gain pace in the country, demand is likely to grow for high-productivity equipment, though traditional machines will also maintain their space. Equipment like excavators, motor graders, wheel loaders, paving machinery, etc, is expected to experience higher demand primarily in the road segment. Housing is also likely to bounce back and backhoes, mini-excavators, skid steers, etc, will find favour there. Big opportunity sectors: India is a developing country; with respect to our population, there is tremendous potential to develop infrastructure. The government has focused on all the segments mentioned above as they are important for the country's growth. In terms of big-ticket spends, roads, railways, housing and irrigation offer a major opportunity. Caterpillar has a broad range of construction and mining equipment, diesel engines and gas turbines and has appropriate solutions for these sectors. Our customers are developing the world - they could not do it without our engines, equipment and assistance. Technological advancements: During Excon this year, we launched many new products, such as Cat 426F2, 424B2 backhoe loaders, Hindustan 2021D wheel loader and Cat 336D2 excavator as smart iron, which reinforces our plans for the construction equipment sector. We also plan to provide further impetus to our presence in the energy and transportation sectors. Globally, Caterpillar has a major presence in the energy and transportation sectors, especially in oil and gas, renewable energy, etc, with its wide range of products such as draglines, drills, pipe layers, marine power systems and electric and gas-based engines of various capacities. Fuel savings and operator-efficiency: We are committed to our customers' success and design our products and solutions to make them more successful by using Caterpillar products rather than products from any other competitors. Cat Connect solutions offer various technologies and services to help our customers maximise machine output and increase fuel-efficiency. “Our growth is going to be synonymous with industry growth.” With the government’s focus on construction and infrastructure, Caterpillar India is positive about opportunities coming along. Vivekanand Vanmeeganathan, Managing Director & Country Head; Andy Dhanraj, Sales Director, Global Construction and Infrastructure; and Murali Achutaraman, National Accounts Manager, Global Construction and Infrastructure, from Caterpillar India, share more… Demand drivers: Two years ago, there were a lot of announcements from the government, but not much activity on the ground. However, since then, there has been activity, which has given a lot of confidence to contractors and customers. Today, we are seeing all announcements translate into opportunities. For instance, in terms of roads, 30 km per day is real data. So we have been witnessing that a lot of customers are buying more machines to meet this target. Company’s growth rate: ICEMA launched a report at Excon’s inaugural session, which typically looked at the industry outlook. Our growth is going to be synonymous with industry growth. The report pointed to a 10-12 per cent CAGR year-on-year for the next five years. The pipeline of projects awarded is typically long term with a natural gestation period attached to it. So the report is conservative and will say that the industry will be worth Rs 8 billion in 2020 and then continue to grow at 12-15 per cent till 2023. However, I would say that even with a conservative estimate, the industry will be approximately Rs13 billion by 2025 because of a 12-15 per cent growth rate. India is definitely positioning itself to be the world’s third largest construction equipment industry when it happens. Innovative technology: Let’s take the wheel loader, for example. It scoops the materials and dumps it into the loader and the haul. Each time the wheel loader scoops, there should be some record of how much is it lifting and how much it is pouring down; in the case of coal, each kilogram matters. We have a technology inbuilt in the machine; when the operator scoops the material, it automatically calculates how much it is lifting and pouring. In another instance, let’s consider an excavator and even motor grader. The key success of a motor grader job in a road contract is how the customer can save on cost. Caterpillar offers a technology called Accugrade in our machine. This helps maintain a uniform thickness for every material that is laid. Thus, the customer can be sure that he will use the material, just as required. One does not have to waste money and energy to refill, redo, undercut or overcut. Apart from these, there are many other technologies that our machines are equipped with. Caterpillar offers job site solutions, which increase fleet utilisation, control costs and use capital more efficiently. Our best application experts work with customer teams for designing and executing site-specific plans to improve productivity, manage the equipment lifecycle, enhance safety and sustainability, and optimise cash flow.