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Motor graders are a highly-evolved technology product. The grader has a strong role in the pre-compaction stage and sub-base preparation with fine grading, spreading and levelling the ground. It uses a hydraulic blade to push large amounts of soil and can be adjusted with a simple lever by the operator. The higher-powered machines are generally used for grading requirements of 160-200 cum/hour, while the lighter units are for grading requirements of 100-120 cum/hour.

The demand for motor graders is directly proportional to the construction of roads and highways. Both Central and State Governments have been giving impetus to roads and highways since early 2000s, when Golden Quadrilateral and North-South/East-West corridors construction was underway. Since then, the demand for motor graders has expanded. The construction of roads and highways has further expanded to Bharatmala, expressways, economic corridors, coastal roads, strategic roads at the border, etc., and now the announcement of National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) encompasses all of them.

During the past few years, the government spending on Infrastructure and construction activities is on the rise globally, especially in the developing nations like India, China. The compact design of the grader is highly suitable for small to medium road projects in villages and cities and also makes them the most preferred choice of contractors for road projects like Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Soyjna (PMGSY) schemes, etc. in developing nations like India.

The Asia-Pacific region remains the largest market for motor graders market. This growth can be attributed to the factors such as increasing construction activities in the countries like China, India, which are the fastest developing nations in the world. The government in the region are spending heavily on developing world class facilities, which are driving the demand for motor graders.

Many big players in the region are spending heavily on research and development of environment friendly and technologically advanced motor graders to reduce the pollution in the region and reduce the human efforts and enhance the productivity in minimum time. For instance, Shandong Lingong Construction Machinery (SDLG), in January 2020, announced the addition of latest product G9290, which is a heavy-duty motor grader. With a base operating weight of 22.9 tonnes and a 14鈥� wide blade as standard, the impressive productivity of blade down force and blade pull makes the SDLG G9290 the best in its size class.

SDLG is banking on its 12-tonne G9 138, powered by 111kw engine and 15-tonne G9190, powered by 148 kw engine199 hp motor graders to build up sales. 鈥淏oth the products deliver lowest cost of operations, with the capability to work in tough site conditions in airports, highways, road construction and water conservancy construction. Their efficient no spin differential axle greatly improve the dynamics and traffic ability. G9138 is equipped with a robust power shift transmission to adapt to complex work requirements,鈥� said Surat Mehta Head 鈥� Marketing & Retail Development, SDLG, India.

In March 2020, John Deere Co. revealed a new factory-installed Premium Circle option for all G-Series, GP-Series and Smart Grade motor graders. This option features a fully sealed bearing and pinion design, reducing maintenance costs and downtime, while also significantly boosting circle torque and speed.

A report from Off-Highway Research revealed, 鈥淪ales of motor graders follow very closely the trends of expenditure on the construction of new roads and the maintenance of the road network, so demand for machines will largely depend on the speed at which existing and future road projects are executed. The backlog of pending road construction work in the country as well as the government鈥檚 ambitious infrastructure development plans, offer huge potential for growth in the motor grader demand.鈥�

CASE has a strong portfolio of motor grader 865B and 845B customised for tough mid-mining projects and large road projects. CASE graders are powered by in-house FPT engines with variable horsepower, which deliver maximum performance with optimal fuel consumption in all working conditions. There are over two lakh FPT engines working extraordinarily well in the field today, which is a testament to the reliability of the performance of FPT engines.

Another unique feature of CASE motor grader is the moldboard. CASE moldboards are available in a range from 12-14 ft, which are recommended on the basis of the application and strata of use. CASE moldboards have two unique features. Firstly, they are hydraulically controlled, meaning the operator can adjust the pitch of the angle of the moldboard from the comfort of the air-conditioned cabin, compared to conventional methods 鈥� thus saving time. Secondly, the CASE graders have a unique multi-radius moldboard, which ensures that maximum material is rolled off in each pass, further improving productivity by reducing the number of passes required.

Said Sandeep Mathur, Brand Leader, CASE India, 鈥淭he 鈥淎鈥� frame of the drawbar is robust and rigid. Larger wear surface provides longer life (reduces wear) and the externally driven circle is easy to clean and better protected in case of shocks. Consistency of controls and response of hydraulic operations, as the ability to make small and precise adjustments in the blade position has a significant impact on profitability for the job which CASE graders smoothly provide. These features make our graders a perfect solution for infrastructure and mining projects.鈥�

Komatsu graders viz., GD535 and GD555 are popular models in the premium segment and have a pan-India presence with deployment in highways and expressways. The large-size Komatsu Grader models like GD705 and GD825 have been deployed for maintenance of haul roads in coal and mining projects.

Komatsu motor grader model GD535 is digitally compliant and incorporate the KOMTRAX technology for tracking location and health parameters. This latest technology enables the users to get the best out of the machine in terms of performance and productivity.

鈥�L&T offers Komatsu motor grader models in the 150 hp-280 HP range for the Indian market. For roads and highways, our latest generation model Komatsu GD535-5 incorporates advanced technology of dual mode transmission with lock-up converter, hydraulic blade tip control, KOMTRAX technology and emissionised engine complaint with current norms. This has enabled the contractors to introduce the state-of-the-art product for the construction of Indian roads which has ushered new benchmarks in grader performance,鈥� said Vivek Hajela, Vice President and Head 鈥� Construction Equipment Business, Larsen & Toubro.

Caterpillar CAT 120 next generation motor grader offers higher fuel efficiency, a more comfortable cab and lower maintenance costs. It has an efficient Cat C7.1 engine with variable horsepower optimizes power in all gears. Coupled with ECO mode and engine idle shutdown, it reduces fuel burn per hour by up to 15 per cent.

LeeBoy India Construction Equipment has launched their new series compact motor graders for India and other overseas developing markets. The new compact model LeeBoy motor grader 585 is fitted with a 10-ft moldboard and powered by 110 BHP engine developing 380 Nm torque.

Leeboy 585 has advance design features such as heavy-duty tandem axle, front axle leaning and oscillations, articulated frame structure, ZF power shift transmission, variable flow load sensing hydraulic system etc, compared to similar capacity models available in India. K Sunil Kumar, President, Leeboy India, said, 鈥淭his compact grader is fully designed in India by our engineers and augurs well for 鈥楳ake in India鈥� initiatives promoted by the Government of India. The compact design is highly suitable for small to medium road projects in villages and cities and also makes them a preferred choice of contractors for road projects like Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Soyjna (PMGSY), etc. LeeBoy 585 offers 20 per cent more productivity and 10 per cent lower fuel consumption, compared to similar range of products in India.鈥�

With the Government鈥檚 focus on infrastructure development, and with the ambitious vision of Rs 111 lakh crore NIP, the demand for motor graders remaining robust for the next 5 to 10 years.

 - KARTHIK MUTHUVEERAN