JCB India transforming in to a full range infrastructure equipment partner, says Jasmeet Singh, JCB India

- Jasmeet Singh, Head-Corporate Communications and External Relations, JCB India

Roads and highways have been important and critical in the overall revival of the industry from 2015 to 2017. 'The sector is a positive growth driver and it is reassuring for the industry to see it continuing to move ahead,' says Jasmeet Singh, Head-Corporate Communications and External Relations, JCB India. A full range infrastructure equipment partner, JCB offers an extensive range of products that are used in road construction. Emphasising on the need for demand drivers to increase, Singh elaborates on the infrastructure growth opportunities, especially the one coming along the Bharatmala programme in conversation with SHRIYAL SETHUMADHAVAN.

How do you view the big opportunities for the company along with the Bharatmala programme? How is this programme expected to enhance the order book position of JCB?
Bharatmala is an ambitious project and will have a positive impact on the earthmoving and construction equipment industry.

A big-ticket road project of this nature will be a growth driver for the industry and at JCB; we are fully geared up to leverage this opportunity with our world class product range. We offer a range of road compaction equipment with three world class products - the VMT330 (a 3T Class Mini Tandem Roller), the VMT 860eco (a 9T Class Tandem Roller) and the JCB116 (a 11T Class Soil Compactor), a latest introduction in the compaction range. The JCB116 Soil Compactor is equipped with proven German Vibration Technology and is designed to give more compaction per litre. It guarantees desired compaction density in a minimum number of passes. Our world class range of intelligent and innovative machines such as tracked excavators, wheeled loaders, and backhoe loaders are also extensively used in road construction.

Any specific JCB equipment that you would like to emphasise on for its benefits to projects to be awarded under the Bharatmala programme? Which major equipment segments are likely to get a boost with the Bharatmala programme?
All JCB products and services are designed, engineered and manufactured to address customer needs. Today's customer is not just looking for a product; he or she is looking for a complete product solution. We manufacture products to One Global Quality, which means products manufactured in India can be used in any part of the world.

Presently, JCB offers a world-class range of equipment that is utilised in the construction of roads starting from general purpose machine such as backhoe loaders to large equipment such as tracked excavators and wheeled loaders to compactors. All these products play a pivotal role in ensuring timely completion of projects. As more and more projects are executed, all these equipment segments will see a rise in demand.

All these machines are feature rich and technologically advanced as they are Livelink enabled. The state-of-the-art telematics technology called JCB Livelink helps our customers to remotely monitor and manage their machines. Users, dealers and JCB get SMS alerts on their phones regarding the service, operations and security of their machine. This data is stored over a period of time and gives vital information to the customer in terms of number of hours the machine has been operational, service intervals, fuel levels, malfunctions if any, etc. Today, over 60,000 Livelink enabled JCB machines are successfully working in India.