With an investment of over $100 million in its 80-acre manufacturing plant in Pune, Sany India is set to make new forays, CW reports. The construction equipment market is on an uptrend. And, with infrastructure investment set to go up, the demand for construction equipment will rise further. According to an IBEF report, equipment sales are estimated to expand at a CAGR of 6.18 per cent to reach 96,700 units by FY2018 from 50,000 in FY2007; while equipment sales reached 68,200 units in FY2015. ´We have seen the equipment market moving in the past seven to eight months,´ says Sanjay Saxena, Vice President & BU Head-Heavy Equipment & Concrete, Sany Heavy Industry India. In this scenario, companies such as Sany India are set to roar. To know more on how these companies are exploring opportunities considering the optimistic market and further expanding their reach, CW recently visited Sany India´s plant at Chakan in Pune. The plant is spread over a vast 80 acre and also serves as the company´s global training centre. It has invested over $100 million in this fully operational manufacturing plant. India-centric Since commencement of its operations in the country in 2002, Sany India´s product offerings include truck cranes, batching plants, transit mixers and excavators, among others. It sees major demand drivers as roads, ports, and, to some extent, mining for the past eight to nine months. ´We have seen growth in excavators,´ says Dheeraj Panda, Vice President & BU Head-Excavators, Sany Heavy Industry India. With a production capacity of 5,000 units, the plant manufactures excavators and transit mixers, and has recently started production of truck cranes. ´We are also planning to enter the road equipment sector next year,´ reveals Saxena. In full swing, the plant sees 2,000 excavators manufactured a year and about 30 units of transit mixers a month. Within the plant is a warehouse that comprises world-class spares worth over Rs 52 crore to avoid delays and for immediate replacement. The Pune centre serves as headquarters to Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and also the export hub for the regions. Market stats With growth in infrastructure, growth in sales for construction equipment is evident. In the past 20 years, Sany has seen an increase in sales by 100 times - this is mainly from excavators, heavy equipment machinery, and concrete equipment. While it sold 617 units from January to August 2016, its current market share stands at 6.2 per cent. ´Sany India has recently achieved leadership in the long reach (LR) excavator segment with 52 per cent market share in the country. In fact, it enjoys 62 per cent market share in Maharashtra, which is the prime market for the LR segment of excavators in Western India. LR excavators are primarily used in applications like well digging, river or canal cleaning and metro construction. And, its piling and drilling rigs have been used in the Kolkata and Chennai metro projects. Widening its reach in western, central and northern India by appointing five new authorised dealers in Ahmedabad, Indore, Jaipur and Jammu & Kashmir, the company now has 28 dealers that cater to India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. Achieving milestones The year 2015 was a significant one for the construction industry - and Sany India too. The company´s sales touched 425 units last year, with expectations to reach 1,200 this year. In 2015-16, several construction equipment companies took a leap forward by increasing their product range. Sany is known to have built a 3,600-tonne crawler crane and manufacture eight units of truck-mounted cranes in India last year. ´We have started manufacturing truck cranes of 25 tonne, 30 tonne and 40 tonne at the Pune plant,´ shares Saxena. In addition, the plant saw the production of a new range of transit mixers of 6 and 7 CBM; batching plants of 30 and 60 CBM; and a 38-tonne excavator. Further, this April, Sany signed a contract with Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust to design, manufacture and supply 15 electric rubber-tired gantry cranes, which flagged off the entry of the group into the heavy gantry cranes segment in India. It is also looking to set up manufacturing facilities for wind projects in the country. In another move, Andhra Pradesh signed two MoUs with State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) and Sany Group of China to set up power projects of 5,000 MW. What´s more, from January to September 2016, Sany India rolled out its 1,000th and 1,001st machine from its Pune plant, the 1000th machine being an excavator and the 1001st, a transit mixer. Skilling focus Machine and manpower are of utmost importance. Sany India lays emphasis upon testing any machine after it has crossed over 3,500 hours of operation. ´Normal load cycles are three to four years,´ says Panda, ´We plan efforts for our equipment as if the machine will run for 10 years.´ While the Pune plant serves as a global training centre, it provides training for its skilled workforce along with operators and dealers. There is a 24 + 7 call centre that detects equipment-related problems on site using technologies such as GIS, GPS, LPS, 3G, etc. Sixty per cent of the issues are solved by backend engineers. The company is also planning an Enterprise Control Centre set-up in India by year-end, and is currently working on a technology, wherein the call centre will be intimated of any equipment problem on site, even before the customer detects the issue. This is a phenomenal prevention measure. Investment is commitment In line with the company´s motto, ´Quality changes the world´, Saxena says, ´We have been reinvesting about 5-7 per cent of annual sales revenue in R&D every year to ensure our products remain at the cutting edge of technology.´ This has resulted in 5,000 authorised patents, the first in construction machinery. While plans are on to introduce equipment for mining projects by year-end, foraying into new business segments by taking on port projects, mining, traditional energy, housing, industrialisation and wind power are on Sany India´s to-do-list. Further, beyond 2016, it plans to introduce a 48-tonne excavator, truck cranes up to 75 tonne, wind power turbines, motor graders, tower cranes and dumpers to its range of offerings. In the road machinery segment, the company is planning to launch three motor graders in India - 120, 160 and 200 - as well as enter the pavers market. ´By January next year, we plan to introduce new product lines of motor graders and tower cranes,´adds Saxena. With Vision 2020 being the focus for most players, Sany India too is aiming to grow its sales to 6,200 units with a market share of 18.2 per cent and market size of 34,000 units by 2020, with its reaffirmed commitment to the Indian market. Game on!