We see a big opportunity in the crushing and screening field

01 Jan 2016 Editorial Team

- Ramesh Palagiri, Managing Director & CEO, Wirtgen India
Wirtgen offers a broad range of services tailored to individual requirements for all areas of road construction, as well as the mining and processing of pay minerals. (left) Frank Betzelt, Managing Director, Wirtgen GmbH; (centre) Ramesh Palagiri, Managing Director & CEO, Wirtgen India; and (right) Bernhard Duser, Member of Board of Management, Vogele, Wirtgen Group, reveal more on the company´s plan in conversation with SHANKAR SRIVASTAVA and SHRIYAL SETHUMADHAVAN.

What is your vision for the next five years?
Palagiri: Our vision is linked with the government. We are well positioned and are clear market leaders even in India in the segments we operate in. So we have to sustain that.

What numbers you expect in the next few years?
Palagiri: Compacters this year we will end with 650 machines, with the overall global production being 750. In the next three years, the potential will touch 1,000 machines in India. For pavers, we are already doing around 100 pavers. Now with our new small paver, which we will launch by the end of next year, there is a potential to go up to 200. We see a big opportunity in the crushing and screening field. We have already started the screen production in India.

With nearly 100 concrete road projects being announced, do you have plans to produce concrete pavers and similar machines in India to meet market demand?
Betzelt: Slipform pavers, in terms of numbers or units, is not a big market like asphalt pavers or rollers. So we have to be sure about what we produce in India. We need volumes to make it economically sensible. So at the moment, sourcing from Germany is the best solution for us.

What is your next generation of paving equipment going to be like?
Duser: The next generation of paving equipment will not only concentrate on machine building but look into the whole process of paving roads. Additionally, we want to increase the quality of pavers because higher the quality of the pavement, longer is the lifetime, higher the savings for the government and the more roads you can build or repair with the same money.