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Excon 2015, in CASH domain, witnessed a plethora of equipment aggregates, sub- assemblies, components and IT solutions for OEMs in their equipment, as original suppliers and in the aftermarket space, descending on the scene of action. Product launches and technologies were showcased in a wide range of application areas like: engines, transmissions, gearboxes, geared drives, electromechanical and hydraulics, valves and pumps, air compressors, crawler track parts, OTR tyres, electronics, telematics, filtration, oils and lubricants, fuel management, robust electronics, display screens, equipment tracking systems and a long list of other solutions.

Notably, many global and corporate group entities joined the usual array of medium and small scale entrepreneurs in showcasing their non equipment range of products. One saw internationals like Bonfiglioli, Mann& Hummel, Bucher Hydraulics, NLMK, Trimble, Trelleborg, ATG Tire, and others on one hand. While L&T Hydraulics, Avetek of CK Birla Group, Allison Transmission, Volvo Penta, Danfoss, ExxonMobil, Shell, Indian Oil Corporation, BKT and Indian subsidiaries of many global players represented the corporate brigade from India.

A brief round-up of some significant launches and developments during the show: Volvo Penta launched BS-III certified D5 and D8 engines series applicable to a variety of construction equipment, agri machinery, mining machinery and forestry equipment. Danfoss India, the Indian subsidiary of Danfoss Sweden, showcased its variable mobile hydraulics solutions catering to numerous applications. The company also launched products like electronic torque limit control pumps and telematic solutions. Bonfiglioli showcased the new range of electro mechanical drives as eco-friendly transmission solutions. Mann & Hummel showcased new filtration technologies to meet the performance requirements dictated by extended oil change intervals. In future, they plan to bring in liquid medium filters to further enhance life cycle of their filters. Allison Transmission introduced fully automatic transmissions catering to tippers and trailers, and all-terrain cranes. Bondioli & Pavesi introduced motors and drives which find applications in concrete batching plants and other concrete equipment. Enovation Technologies launched the 7 inch screen size Telematic solution for construction equipment. Ajashy launched Maquina online platform for buy/sell, rental and support solutions related to construction equipment industry. Notably, SPML Infra has also invested in this innovative venture. In the lubricants space, ExxonMobil emphasised on their synthetic energy-efficient lubricants, Shell exclusively tied up with with Tata Hitachi, and Evonik Dynavis technology has been adopted by Indian Oil Corporation for their Servo oils.

New entrants
Foreign country pavilions by China, Turkey, Germany, UK, Italy, South Korea, Finland and Sweden included many first time exhibitors, who had traditionally been visitors to during earlier Excon expos, were also visible in this section, Similar was the case with many Indian suppliers. As a result, all the four indoor halls were alive with a frenzy of business dealings, information gathering and related discussions. Manoj Joag, Director, Sales & Operations, Bondioli & Pavesi India Pvt Ltd, said that India is a market with immense opportunities and potential for their products. Similarly, Frenos Iruna Brakes, a Spanish company engaged in brake systems, as Joaquin Ibanez, Commercial Manager, is bullish about the Indian market. They have started their Indian manufacturing facility in Chennai and in order to expand their operations and reach to the market in all over India, they participated at Excon. There are many such players who participated for the first time and could create their presence felt.

Weaving new opportunities
From a bird?s eye view standpoint, Excon was a platform facilitating new business alignments for many first-time exhibitors among the CASH players. While for the traditional players, this was a platform to further strengthen their presence with new additions to products and solutions they offer. With the overall industry sentiments is positive, it is time for these players to gear up to weave new opportunities in the industry domain they cater to.

EI spoke to leading CASH exhibitors at Excon on their outlook on industry and future plans. Refer to the interviews.

?We offer a range of tyres to choose from.?

In an interaction with SHANKAR SRIVASTAVA, Nagesh Basavanahalli, Group President - Emerging Markets, ATG Tire, elaborates on the company?s vision on the Indian market and their future plans.

What is the profile of your customers in India?
It primarily goes back to our brand strategy, Alliance, Galaxy and Primax. Alliance is a strong high technology product for agriculture, Galaxy for construction and mining segment and Primax for forestry applications. Galaxy is meant for Indian markets.

What is the value proposition offered by ATG for the OTR tyre segment?
It is the total cost of ownership. At the end of the day, we look at how much value we are adding to the customer. Our products are backed by technology developed by our R&D centre located in Israel. Another factor is the manufacturing costs in our two facilities in India and also our ability to understand the pulse on the ground duly backed by our service team who understand the customers? needs. Construction equipment are becoming more heavy and being used for varied applications. As such, one tyre cannot be used for 10 different applications. We understand this situation and offer a range of tyres from which one can pick and choose according to his needs: That is our strategy. For example, for skid steer we offer 18-20 options for different terrain of use. Our product range is like a broad spectrum of antibiotic.

Which OTR product are you proud of?
It is difficult to say. Each range of our product provides value to our customers and that is what we are proud of.

What are your future plans?
We are setting up a sales and distribution network in the North-East, West and South regions. We plan to start with OTR tyres and later follow it up with agri-products. What we did for OTR last year, we are doing for agriculture this year, that is our road map.

?The current market trend is bringing in more efficiency.?

Allison Transmission specialises in fully automatic transmissions. We have a wide range of products starting from 1000 series and going upwards to 9000 series. These are used by customers in various truck applications. At Excon, three vehicles were displayed with the company?s Automatics, catering to tippers and trailers, and all-terrain cranes. Salil Gupta, Director-India Commercial Operations, Allison Transmission, shares more in conversation with SUDHEER VATHIYATH.

How does an automatic transmission help in off-highway applications?
In the off-highway equipment, the duty cycle and terrain is very challenging, thus placing extremely high burden of stress on the machine and the operator. This translates to high wear and tear, high maintenance requirements, frequent breakdowns and relatively low productivity. Under such harsh and severe conditions, the optimum transmission is a full automatic transmission, which architecturally, gives very high reliability and productivity, and hence the truck does more work, and generates higher productivity and revenue.

What is the current market trend?
The current market trends are increasing efficiency and productivity. With our market opening to the whole world, more foreign players are coming in. In order to be competitive, all businesses have to bring in higher levels of efficiency and are driving this by introducing new technology. Along-with new technology, you tweak your business process to work with the technology and deliver higher efficiencies, which in turn drives down the cost per tonne, improves overall productivity, and the resultant returns are positive.

What is your outlook on the market?
I think customers will definitely embrace technologies which will give them better efficiencies for their businesses. It is a question of how fast it will happen. Our nation wants to develop fast and we can achieve that based on how fast we mobilise ourselves in terms of technology and productivity.

?The Bhuj plant is going to help in pushing the growth momentum at BKT.?

Headquartered in Mumbai, India, Balkrishna Industries Ltd (BKT) is a leading manufacturer in the off-highway tire market. Established in 1987, the company has successfully focused on specialist segments such as agricultural, construction and industrial vehicles as well as earthmoving, port and mining, and other applications. Rajiv Poddar, Joint Managing Director, BKT shares more on the company in conversation with SHRIYAL SETHUMADHAVAN.

What has led to BKT?s success over the years?
There are no limits to growth. Success in management required learning as fast as the world is changing. BKT has established solid roots over the years bringing in radical changes, which steered our company ahead towards fast prospering growth. Getting deeper insights into all corporate processes from manufacturing to finance, from sales to marketing has been fundamental by leaving no stone unturned.

Tell us about the Bhuj plant.
This greenfield project is the company?s largest production plant. and is going to almost double the capacity and thus help in pushing the growth momentum at BKT.

How do you see the current market scenario in India?
The construction scenario is slightly better than what it used to be and going forward we are expecting good growth. The government has been making announcements every day, but these are yet to fructify. We expect that by the Q1 2016, projects will take off following which we will have a great opportunity.

?We will soon start manufacturing next generation liquid filters in India.?

What are the specific parameters you have selected for your filtration solutions in Indian conditions?
We work with specifications from the engine manufacturers, which we meet or better than their specifications. Of late, we are seeing demand for increased change intervals and lowering the cost of filtration over a period of time. So far, we have been successful to bring our innovative solutions to the Indian market.

How do your filtration systems meet the requirement of increased oil change intervals?
Our R&D is helping us to move from cellulose to a blend of cellulose and other synthetic media. In fact, we are currently working on a project where we have been asked to reduce the filter size to half but triple the change interval and we will be coming out with some samples shortly.

Could you share the key milestones achieved during your journey so far?
We have been in this business globally for 75 years. Working with our customers in different parts of the globe had led to innovations in many domains and you could consider these innovations as the milestones in our journey. In India, we have grown from a small trading set up to a company with two manufacturing plants and a Tech Center, which is equipped with state of the art facilities. The tech center also houses our 200+ strong engineering and design teams.

What excites you in India?
We have been in India with a manufacturing footprint only since 2006. Over the years we have entered new fields, reached peak volumes and are continuously expanding. For automobiles, we supply intake manifolds, air cleaners, crankcase ventilation systems, cylinder head covers, and now cabin air filters for HVAC applications. Soon we shall start manufacturing locally, filters for oil and fuel. We are growing rapidly and are continuously increasing our product portfolio.

?India is one of the top three countries where Bonfiglioli is investing.?

Bonfiglioli is an Italian manufacturer for planetary gearboxes. Present in India for the past 15 years, the company has 750 employees and a total of three facilities in the country. While India and China continue to be an important market for Bonfiglioli in the Asia Pacific region, the business results in India are better compared to other markets. In conversation with SHANKAR SRIVASTAVA, Stefano Baldi, Business Unit Sales Director, Bonfiglioli Riduttori SpA, Italy; Andrea Torcelli, R&D Manager, Bonfiglioli Riduttori SpA, Italy; and Kennady V Kaippally, Country Manager, Bonfiglioli Transmissions Pvt Ltd, share more on the company?s business in India.

How strong is your India presence in terms of value of business?
Baldi: Together with Germany and the USA, India is one of the top three countries where Bonfiglioli is investing as it is a growing market for us even more than China. We are considered to be one of the most professional gearbox manufacturers in the country offering a complete organisation starting from application engineering, technical support, production and after market services.

Other than JCB, who are your customers?
Baldi: We ventured into the construction equipment segment five to six years ago, and JCB is our most important customer globally. Other customers include Schwing Stetter, Wirtgen, Dynapac, Case New Holland and we are continuously growing year on year.

Are you planning any new launches for India?
Baldi: Bonfiglioli recently announced the acquisition of 55 per cent shares in the leading manufacturer Carraro Group, which is a part of German-based O&K, who are manufacturers for heavy duty planetary gear boxes for mining sector, big tower cranes, etc. Our strategy is to deliver products from India for tower cranes, aerial work platforms and other opportunities.

Why do customers prefer your products in the market?
Torcelli: Our products are reliable, of robust design and we work with the customers to understand and deliver solutions most suitable for their applications. There are three major guidelines we follow in our engineering approach to provide the best solutions: Work in a lean way; work with integration to increase the value of our product and visualise environmentally cleaner solutions like use of electric motors designed for lower energy consumption.

One new focus area for you is electro mobility....
Baldi: For the first time in India, we have displayed our new products driven by electric motors for warehousing equipment. So we expect companies like Godrej or Kion to be our new customers segment.

What is your current business turnover in India?
Kaippally: The Indian turnover from MWS (our business unit) is around Rs 400 crore, of which, the domestic market turnover is around Rs 300 crore. Despite the The construction equipment market was at its peak in 2012, and thereon it has been a downward journey. But for us, it has been a continuous growth, and with revival in the market, we expect to grow more. We are not playing the number game; we believe in maximum market penetration and do not have any set targets for the medium or long term growth.

?We are an innovation driven company.?

Trelleborg Sealing Solutions India Pvt Ltd was founded in 1978 as Rollon Bearings and joined the Trelleborg Group in 2005. Ranjan Sen, Managing Director, shares more on the company?s offerings and innovation in conversation with SHRIYAL SETHUMADHAVAN.

Introduce us to your products and offerings.
Trelleborg Sealing Solutions is one of the world?s leading players having a diverse range of products. We have a wide range of products typically into hydraulic cylinders and rotary seals. When it comes to hydraulic seals in the reciprocating cylinders, we offer the whole kit combining wiper, scrapper, U-Cup, piston seals etc. In the rotary segment, we offer cassette seals, radial oil seal and radial shaft seals etc. So from our whole range of products, we can offer a customer, end-to-end solutions for cylinders.

What is the emphasis you lay on innovation?
We are an innovation driven company. Approximately 2 per cent of the global turnover converts into R&D. So, we focus on product innovation, material innovation and service innovation.Our innovations are driven both from the market requirement as well as from the engineering requirement. On product innovation, we have designed mechanical face seals which are specifically engineered for rotating applications in extremely tough environments where they withstand severe wear and prevent ingress from harsh and abrasive external media.

On service innovation we are one of the firsts to use IT like apps is sales, ability to connect engineers on the e-platform. These innovations of course set us apart from other sealing suppliers in the country.

How much of your offerings for India is made in India?
We have lot of products that are made in India. We have a manufacturing facility in Bengaluru to develop, manufacture and supply high-performance sealing solutions for aircrafts, off-highway equipment, trucks, passenger cars, as well as for industrial applications. The facility caters to the customers in the whole world and gradually becoming a manufacturing hub for the Asian markets.

?Our high grade products provide a competitive edge in cost.?

What is the company?s focus for India?
We have been dealing with India for many years. Initially, we were supplying our Q&T plates in the energy sector for pipes, storage tanks, pressure vessels and such applications. We have recently developed a product range of Q&T high wear resistant and high yield strength steels, which also find their way to many applications in India because they are suitable for what we call yellow goods industry and engines for construction and mining equipment. India is obviously one of the largest markets in the world.

How do you visualise the future of your imported products, in light of the Make in India movement?
Today Clabecq exports 50 per cent of its production to Europe and balance to other countries. Many of our Indian customers are also global players. Importantly, our high grade products also provide a competitive edge to our customers in terms of cost. In this part of the world, India continues to be a major hub.

Since you supply steel products for engines, does it find a way into automobile engines?
No. Our plate thickness starts from 3.2 mm which is more suitable for heavy applications like booms and structures for construction and mining equipment.

For wear steels, what is your take on Hardox?
It is true that they are the leaders globally. We respect them. However, I am encouraged our customers? comments that our Quard brand is gaining recognition in India.

?We are in discussions with many OEMs for expanding our network.?

What is your experience at Excon?
I have been to Excon for the first time. I am very positive on this exhibition as so many people visited our stand with questions on real problems they are facing, looking for solutions to address these problems and exploring the opportunities.

What is your outlook on Indian market?
We are making lot of investments in industrial sector with new product range showcased at Excon 2015 for Indian market, we are completing renewal of our product programme from 5 to 16 litre engines with all emission norms based on a common platform of values. Based on the investments in such product range we are intensifying our efforts in all areas OEM and aftermarket, to grow the business. I am pretty optimistic about our opportunities as there is demand from the industry for reliable and efficient solutions.

How do you comply with the emission regulations in India for your range of products?
Our product introduction is at the same pace as they are available in Stage II, III and IV versions. From OEM perspective there is the benefit that the design work can be done only once and they can leverage on that for many markets and export markets. We see that many OEMs are able to expand direct export business, thanks for being stay connected with us and our brands. This is an opportunity for us and I think the emission levels will be harmonised between India and the region as this is the opportunity for both OEMs and component manufacturers in India to expand the market.

Government is now planning to implement the next stage emission norms sooner than planned? How are you gearing for this?
With our new range of products, we are in an excellent position to take the advantages of this opportunity. Because we have already started working with the design engineers, we are ready for higher emission norms, whether it comes now or later.

How do you design your engines as per different working environment?
We have a modular structure that is working with and we have different options for different operating categories of equipment. For instance, the wiring harness of the engine we have the heavy-duty version of the harness to withstand mining environment, stone crusher environment. We have fuel pre-filtration facility on the engine for those areas where good quality fuels may not be available. Also we have coolers for regular heavy-duty applications. We adopt the fin sizing of the radiator pores in order to make them easier to treat and the materials we choose are less sensitive through operation and so on. That is the kind of selections we do in the early stages of design works together with the OEMs that make suitable.

How do you look at your presence in Indian market?
We are operating as premium product with selected customers those who are more stringent on quality, fuel saving, etc. It is highly dependent on how you define the market. In the imported products category, we are the market leaders.

Who are your major customers?
In the construction equipment market, we are working with many major OEMs manufacturing concrete pumps, crusher and screening machinery, underground mining equipments and also working with material handling equipment manufacturers.

How do you work with your customers?
We are looking for technological partnerships where we discuss with the OEMs if they have any issues, if they have a model to operate what are the design criteria, what they want to do with their product, what kind of ambiance conditions do they operate etc. Based on these discussions, we see what solutions we can offer from us and what is their scope of supply. From thereon, we are interacting regularly on concept design with packaging of the machinery providing technical details in advance and then we support in the prototype and testing phases as well with our application engineers before the product goes into production phase.

What is the capacity range and which are the major application segments of your engine range?
We offer engines ranging from 105 kW to 565 kW, we are present in underground loaders, stone crushers, concrete pumps, container handling equipment and cranes.

Do you have presence in truck segment?
We generally don?t compete with Volvo Group?s products, but if there are special vehicles, that have a truck base, then we are open to engage in discussion as well.

What are your expansion plans?
A lot have planned with intensified activities in the current market. Discussions are on with several OEMs in expanding our network and increase business volume.

?Our strength is catering the construction and mining segments with our premium products and services.?

Raj Petro Specialities is a seven-decade-old Indian multinational company with a turnover of Rs 1,600 crore. The company is engaged in all sorts of petroleum produtcts from Transformer oil, white oil, petroleum jelly, industrial lubricants and automotive lubricants with the brand name of ? ZOOMOL? one of the fastest growing brand in this segment.Vinit Asher, Director, Raj Petro Specialities Pvt Ltd, shares more on the company and an industry perspective in conversation with SUDHEER VATHIYATH.

Highlight your major contributions to the construction sector?
Zoomol Lubricants has emerged as one of the preferred brand for lubricants for construction sector. In only five years of existence, Zoomol has served more than 200 construction projects with its extensive range of products. Some of the renowned construction majors have done exclusive contracts with us to utilize our products and services. With our long drain products, we have also reduced downtime of equipment thereby reducing overall project completion time.

Do you supply Zoomol to all equipment players?
Yes, we supply ZOOMOL to prominent equipment players by showing them the higher savings in terms of enhancing the oil drain interval and providing them the value added technical services.

How do you view the future of the infrastructure sector?
We are very bullish about this sector. With present government aggressively rolling out new projects and clearing bottlenecks of long-pending projects, we do see huge growth in Infra sector. In last one year, we have witnessed fair amount of fund infusion to give pace to these projects. Timelines are being defined and adhered to, these details definitely shows positive outlook for this sector.

What are your future plans?
We always have complete clarity of our goal from the time we have started this business, we want to be Market leader in Premium Lubricants. We have come a long way from being an unknown brand to being a preferred brand for reputed clients. In future, we will be expanding our clientele base and aggressively promote our high-value products.

Quick bytes from exhibitors

We cater to the entire lubricant industry worldwide and in India. We see high relevance for our technology to the high temperature conditions here.
- Dr Oliver Eyrisch Director, Global Marketing & Branding - Oil Additives, Evonik Industries AG

Our customers, end-users and dealers, are quite hopeful that 2016 would be better. We planned many actions when the market was down and for the next 12-18 months we are going to try and build on that and add new products.
- Shyam Gyanani Managing Director, Trident International

This time we exhibited products specially focusing on excavator market. These products are manufactured in India. By way of displaying these products we are promoting the concept of Make in India programme. With the government clearing many road projects, construction equipment market is growing which is good for our business.

This time we exhibited products specially focusing on excavator market. These products are manufactured in India. By way of displaying these products we are promoting the concept of Make in India programme. With the government clearing many road projects, construction equipment market is growing which is good for our business.
- Kaustubh Vasant Phadtare Managing Director, Kavitsu Robotronix Pvt Ltd

We participated for the first time at Excon. Our aim was to provide awareness about our products and solutions to the industry. We are relatively new entrant in Indian market and we want to expand ourselves in the next two years, probably with a factory nearby location.
- Manoj Joag, Director (Sales & Operations), Bondioli & Pavesi India Pvt Ltd

We have launched series of touch-screen displays as the world is moving in that direction. We are extending the range of displays like data loggers, remote monitoring and other needs of the market. At Excon we have launched our 7-inch touch-screen and stationary equipment controllers.
-Harpreet Singh Wahan GM, Sales and Marketing - India, Enovation Controls India Pvt Ltd

For us this exhibition is very important because last year we opened a factory in Chennai and in the next five years, India will be our main market. We have a good customer base here and would like to expand in the coming years. This is the reason we participated in this expo.
- Joaquin Ibanez Commercial Manager, Frenos Iruna Brakes