Untapped market

After attracting almost 30,000 delegates and more than 700 companies to its last show -- held in Mumbai in 2013 -- bC India will next month test the waters of the north of India, at its new location in Greater Noida, near Delhi.

The region represents an "untapped market", says Igor Palka, chief executive at bC Expo India PVT. LTD., and despite the uncertainty of a new venue there are plenty of reasons for optimism. "The next edition is at a new venue and we need to understand that we are dealing with an entirely untapped market of visitors coming from the north. As far as expectations go, with a new government in place and projects being announced everybody anticipates 2015 to have a significant growth rate -- and that from an exhibitions perspective is good news for us."

The first bC India show was in 2011, which attracted around 500 exhibitors and 22,000 delegates -- figures which were improved upon at the next show in 2013.

For this year's show, the venue has been improved, says Palka: "From the temporary structures that we had in Mumbai I'm convinced that we will experience an increase in quality at Noida because of the existing fixed infrastructure available there.

"We don't have to build anything like halls or alike. Furthermore we have a huge outdoor area with concreted grounds so no levelling is required. Indeed the support offered by the venue is extremely good."

Liebherr

At the bC India show Liebherr will promote its 85 EC-B 5i flat-top crane, designed for inner-city projects.

The model has been produced at Liebherr's plant at Pune, India since 2012 and has a maximum load capacity of 5t, lifting up to 1.3t at the jib end and working with a radius of up to 50m.

Development of the crane focused on the low-width 85 LC tower system, which has a cross-section of 1.2m by 1.2m. The crane also incorporates other features designed to make it more suitable for inner-city use, such as new pin connectors and compact assemblies.

Manitowoc

Manitowoc plans to showcase two tower cranes and a mobile crane at bC India, and may transport to the show the MCT 85 and MCT 205 topless cranes which will be on display at Bauma China this month.

While the specific models that Manitowoc will display in India are yet to be confirmed, they may include the two Potain MCT cranes and the Grove RT890E rough terrain crane which will be present at Bauma China in Shanghai on November 25-28.

The 10t MCT 205 offers fast erection -- with the complete upperworks assembled in four lifts -- helping it to meet the increasing demand in the Asia region for shorter construction schedules.

Similarly, on-site assembly work is reduced by the 5t MCT 85, which features a counterjib and towerhead pre-assembled as one component.

Zoomlion ElectroMech

Pune-based crane manufacturer ElectroMech recently entered the tower crane sector after establishing a joint venture with Chinese manufacturer Zoomlion.

The joint venture, Zoomlion ElectroMech Indian Pvt Ltd, will exhibit its 5t TC5013-5 external climbing hammerhead tower crane, designed for high-rise real estate construction projects in the India region.

The crane has a 50m jib with a 1.3t tip load, and incorporates a range of features including a selfclimbing mechanism with anti-drop device, a climbing frame with platform to improve self-erection, and safety features such as wire rope breakage protection, axle breakage protection, wire rope guides, and a load limiter.

Avalon

Indian company Avalon says it is the largest manufacturer of crane safety products in the country.

Its product portfolio includes safe load indicators, displays, mountings and cables, and gauges to measure pressure, wind speed and length.

The company is now moving into the M2M sector -- representing equipment which connects 'machine to machine' or 'machine to man' -- with the introduction of its Kube M2M suite, designed for the crane and heavy engineering industries.