Excon 2015 is touted to be bigger than ever before. For one, market sentiments have improved. BY TEAM CW
It is one of the biggest trade fairs to look forward to for the construction and equipment industry. It is also one of the biggest platforms to introduce new machinery and equipment, and with much fanfare. And going by industry buzz, most equipment manufacturers are gearing up with to spring some surprises this year.
This year is also going to be different from Excon 2013. Two years ago, the industry had seen a different economic situation. The global economic slowdown had cast a gloom over the industry and while most exhibitors appeared optimistic, one could sense the dismay about the situation then.
Now two years down the line, times have changed. There’s a new government at the centre who was heralded into power amid much promises. With vast infrastructure projects being announced, it also signifies a commensurate increase in equipment buying. Equipment makers, too, are gung-ho about launching new products and technologies. With a projected investment in the infrastructure sector in the 12th Plan period (2012-2017), which is pegged at around Rs 100,000 crore, global players in the infrastructure sector especially the construction equipment industry, have immense opportunity to take part in India’s infrastructure growth story.
Nitin Lall, general manager, Atlas Copco Construction Technique Customer Centre, says, “I believe Excon 2015 will bring in more customer footfalls than Excon 2013. The market sentiment is upbeat and there are several projects in the pipeline. It’s more interesting to know that most Indian companies are happy with the aggressive stance taken by this government as compared to the previous one. This should help see a push of some of the pending projects into implementation. With some past and some new exhibitors, this show should see much innovation, attract footfalls and generate enquiries.”
Atlas Copco plans to use Excon 2015 as a platform to showcase some of its recently launched compressors, road equipment and hydraulic breakers.
Infrastructure is critical for the economic growth as this alone can increase the GDP by 2% a year. Recently, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley promised foreign investors better conditions for doing business, and said that continuing reforms will push India’s economic growth higher than last year’s 7.3% despite adverse global winds. India has the potential to be the bright spot in the gloomy world economic scenario, he said, adding fiscal deficit is coming down and inflation is very much under control.
Wirtgen Group intends to show case the complete range relevant for their market and project. “The company offers complete 3600 solutions for road building & rehabilitation as well as the mineral technology line which is backed by strong application knowledge, after sales and spares support,” says Ramesh Palagiri, MD & CEO, Wirtgen India.
At Excon 2015, it is launching a milling machine W 100 cf, which is a compact front loader in the one-metre-class with outstanding productivity and a sophisticated vision concept. The milling drum unit comes with useful automatic features and operation of the machine is easy and intuitive. Any potential for wear and tear is reduced to a minimum while precise milling results are guaranteed.
It is also launching the Kleemann screen produced in India — the MS 953 — which is a triple deck track mounted screening unit. These machines will be on display for the first time in Excon 2015.
Tushar Mehendale, managing director at Zoomlion ElectroMech, says, “With the renewed thrust in infrastructure development in the country, we expect plenty of action at Excon 2015. We are also hopeful about excellent customer footfalls in which the share of motivated buyers will be much higher than the previous exhibition.”
ElectroMech plans to participate in two avatars this year at Excon 2015. One with its range of products like gantry cranes and other types of customised overhead cranes for the infrastructure construction industries. And in the other form it will be present through its joint venture with Zoomlion and exhibit a tower crane and other Zoomlion products during the show. “The trade shows need to ensure that their promotional activities are top notch and targeted towards the correct audience. The trade show should also have a certain critical mass so as to attract customers from across South Asia. In case of Excon, it needs to eventually rise to the level of being similar to the Bauma shows in Munich and Shanghai. Hopefully, with the revival of the infrastructure industry all set to happen and Indian requirements being huge, this day won’t be far,” adds Mehendale.
Jasmeet Singh, head, corporate communications, JCB India Limited, says, “Over the years, Excon has emerged as a platform where every manufacturer (global as well as domestic) showcase their products and technology. It also presents an opportunity to connect with all stakeholders including visitors, customers and financiers. At Excon 2015, JCB will showcase its entire range of equipment which will include some new and exciting additions.”
For most construction and infrastructure equipment manufacturers, Excon is a great platform to launch technically advanced products and meet customer demands as well as the country’s infrastructure development plan. Most manufacturers are quite pleased to add products and further demonstrate their commitment to the Indian market through an impressive record of machine design, development and production. It is not uncommon for companies to invest 3-5% of its sales revenue into R&D, making it possible to expand its product lines to concrete, road, port, hoisting, pile driving, excavating machineries and wind energy products.
It is common for Indian companies to be bullish on India’s long-term growth. Most of them are investing on expanding production and assembly facilities in India. Considering that several MNCs are looking at India’s progress before making new or additional investments, they know that even though the speed of development has slowed down in recent years, for a growing economy like India the infrastructure sector and construction industry will prosper in the long run. There is no dispute about it.
