The year 2011 marked a watershed moment in our short history

01 Jan 2012 CW Team

Arjun A Chowgule, General Manager, Chowgule and Company Pvt Ltd - Material Handling and Construction Equipment Division

It just takes one good move to put you on the map. Initiated in 2004, Chowgule Material Handling and Construction Equipment collaborated with Furukawa Unic Corporation for marketing truck-mounted cranes. This partnership positioned the company amongst the leaders for these cranes. And today, with a client list ranging from small to big players in different sectors, its prime customers include names like L&T, HCC, NCC, IVRCL, Patel Engineering and GMR. "We consider ourselves fortunate to have such companies trusting our products and services," says Arjun A Chowgule, General Manager, Chowgule and Company Pvt Ltd - Material Handling and Construction Equipment Division, as he elaborates further on his company's activities in conversation with CW....

Tell us about the nature of your business?
Keeping a tab on market requirements has always been an integral part of the way we operate. And with this, we developed the tractor crane and equipment that undertakes material handling and lifting operations in off-road, rural and congested areas. The year 2011 marked a watershed moment in our short history as we established a manufacturing facility for our different products and introduced the Handyman pick-up loader, Powerplus truck cranes and crawler cranes, and Teisaku rock breaks and excavator attachments.

What is your annual production capacity?
We are geared up to produce 400 truck-mounted cranes, 5,000 Handyman pick-up loaders and 300 rock breakers per year. Rock breakers are our established products, although we are relatively late entrants in the market. In the case of truck-mounted equipment, though, we are amongst the pioneers; this range is just getting out of the early adoption stage.

Highlight the technologies used.
Our main production facilities are located in Goa. With different processes split over two plants, we have CNC plasma and oxyacetylene profile cutting machines, radial drilling and beveling machines, MIG-MAG synergetic control inverter technology welding machines, CNC pipe-bending machines, hydraulic portal presses and press brakes, band saw and shot-blasting machines. and a painting booth and oven. A few processes in addition to this are outsourced to carefully selected vendors.

What quality standards do your products conform to?
They conform to the most stringent quality checks. Our products are of export quality; even our Handyman pick-up loader was recently given a CE marking. We offer our customers products that last many years, above the market average for sure. Moreover, design is a critical part of our mindset. With emphasis on safety and operational comfort, we take into account how the products will be used and how the operators and contractors interact with them. For instance, our simple remote control system in the Handyman pick-up loader is the result of this. We spent hours understanding the entire process - how operations begin and end, and how this could result in a safe and convenient system for the operator's needs.

Tell us about rental facilities.
We have a fleet of rental equipment covering truck-mounted cranes, tractor cranes, Handyman pick-up loader, truck cranes and crawler cranes. These are available anywhere in India for a monthly rental; customers can also avail our rent-to-purchase schemes.

How do you maintain the equilibrium between quality and affordability?
There will always be a price for a quality trade-off. Two things should be considered: the price people are willing to pay and the quality required. The former is dependent on the financial position and operations of the customer. The latter should be determined by the equipment supplier, and there should be no compromise on basic quality and safety checks. And, I believe we are entering a phase in the Indian market where customers prefer the value they get rather than the price they pay.

Your take on the Indian construction equipment sector.
The industry is ready to take off. Of course, the government needs to get its act together and kick off the series of infrastructure projects the country needs. If this happens in the right way, and with the recent emphasis that industry players are placing on productivity and mechanisation, the big growth phase for construction equipment is soon to come.

What are your future plans?
To continue serving the market and do business for long-term relationships and sustainable business practices. We will continue to innovate, but executing business in the right manner is our central focus.

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