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- Sanjay Saxena, Sr VP and Head of Heavy Equipment Business Unit, Sany Heavy Industry India

How is the medium and heavy-duty mobile cranes market progressing in India? Which projects are the major demand drivers?

With the government’s heavy investment on infrastructure development, the mobile crane market in India is showing gradual signs of improvement, which was impacted by the pandemic. Numerous on-going development projects such as metro, railway, bridges and flyovers have shot-up the demand for medium and heavy duty mobile cranes in the market.

Besides this, the government effort to boost economic growth has generated a wide range of lifting jobs across the infrastructural, industrial, renewable energy sector and refinery expansion projects. As the government is rewarding more new projects to boost the economy, the mobile cranes market is expected to exhibit moderate growth during the forecast of 2021-26.

The mobile cranes market in India is still dominated by pick-and-carry cranes. Why? 

The articulated pick and carry cranes are mainly used for lifting and moving lightweight materials. These small cranes constitute a large chunk of the mobile crane market in India. Owing to their lower price, and weak safety related regulations, the pick-and-carry cranes are more popular in comparison to safer slew types of cranes, in the price sensitive Indian market.

What is the role of safety in heavy-duty mobile cranes? What are the added safety features in your mobile cranes?

Safety-by-design is the most important aspect of our 360 degree slew mobile cranes. Safety systems in heavy-duty mobile cranes play a vital role in preventing accidents and allow more effortless and safer operation at site. Heavy-duty-mobile cranes are the indispensable assistant in lifting heavy loads at maximum reach and heights. Any incompetency while working with this type of equipment can pose severe hazards to operators and nearby workers. Additionally, it can also lead to significant time and operation cost. 

Sany India's heavy-duty-mobile cranes are the most technologically advanced hoisting equipment in the country, when it comes to safety. Our cranes are equipped with in-house developed, state-of-the-art and advanced 'Load Moment Indicator (LMI)', which provides real-time information of load hoisting and protection against accidents due to overloading and negligence. In case of overload operation, the system automatically issues an alarm to provide safety protection for manipulation.

The hydraulic and electrical systems of our mobile cranes are designed with safety valves, sensors and limit switches respectively to provide stable and reliable operations. Main and auxiliary winches are equipped with an over roll-out limiter to prevent over rolling-out of wire rope. Further, our cranes are equipped with an anemometer and press sensor to indicate the working condition of the whole crane in real-time, giving an alarm and cutting off the dangerous action automatically.

The current unprecedented market conditions have put a brake on the demand due to slowdown in construction activities. How do you look at this scenario for the mobile cranes market?

Covid-19 is one of the black swan events, which disrupted the CE market industry globally. All construction equipment segments had witnessed an immediate drop in sales as soon the government enforced the lockdown to contain the spread of the virus. But now, as the restrictions are easing and infrastructural development activities have resumed – the mobile cranes market is showing a good recovery, like other construction equipment.

We are seeing promising trends in the segment. According to us, the current scenario is a great opportunity for all construction OEMs to flourish in the market. Moreover, growth in revenues in the mining sector and FDIs are also driving the demand for cranes in the market. It is anticipated that the mobile crane market is likely to register a sustainable growth during the forecast period 2020-2025.

How do you look at the market recovery and outlook for mobile cranes? What will drive the growth in future?

Mobile cranes, which hold the maximum share of the crane market, are on strong recovery with the increase in construction and infrastructural activities in the country. Furthermore, the government’s capital expenditure for the nation’s infrastructure development is positively propelling the CE market growth. Apart from this, the rental industry is also playing a major role in accelerating the demand for the mobile crane market.

The demand for mobile cranes is likely to grow, especially higher tonnage cranes used in several application segments. Various future projects of the government like railway projects, flyover projects, metro projects are the most promising, which will certainly drive the demand for the equipment in future.