Excon 2009

The fifth Excon, South Asia’s largest construction equipment event, took place in Bangalore from 25–29 November 2009. Spread across 150,000 sq m, the event was organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre. The organisers reported that 450 exhibitors participated at the event, including 135 international exhibitors, from countries such as the UK, China, Germany, Italy, Taiwan and Singapore. Exhibitors displayed cranes, as well as advances in aggregate, earthmoving equipment and construction vehicles.

The mood among crane companies was quite upbeat. Firms reported positive business confidence, based on robust demand fundamentals and sound future demand projections from the Indian construction sector.

According to A K Somani, representative director, Liebherr India: “After a period of temporary lull during the first part of 2009, demand has started to show signs of revival from October 2009 onwards. The demand trend is expected to become firm. This is because the government remains committed to infrastructure development in the long-term.”

The Indian government will be undertaking planned investment ofUSD500bn during the country’s eleventh five-year plan period running from 2007- 2012. Somani said development of thermal and nuclear power projects is likely to increase demand for 600–1,000t crawler cranes. He said Liebherr has received enquiries in the 1,000t category from potential power project developers.

Martin Xuping, general manager, Zoomlion India, said: “Apart from upcoming port and other infrastructure projects, demand drivers for crawler and mobile cranes extensively would be from power projects.” India has a peak power shortage of 13%. The government plans to add 70,000MW of power capacity during the eleventh plan and 100,000MW during the 12th plan period. For crane companies, with good numbers of ultra mega thermal power projects being developed, crawler cranes beyond 600t would be in demand.

Raman Joshi, managing director, Manitowoc Cranes India, said: “The demand drivers for crawler cranes will be from the greenfield power sector. The Indian construction market is now moving towards high capacity cranes and we are targeting this segment with our extensive range of product offerings."

The tower cranes segment has been showing flat growth in 2009. India witnessed a slowdown in real estate projects owing to low availability of liquidity to project developers and hardening of home loan rates by the Central Reserve Bank. Presently, demand for tower cranes is showing signs of revival, led by demand from low-cost housing projects. However, crane companies perceive future demand for tower cranes will be from high-end infrastructure projects.

Lee Ling, sales manager, South Asia, Zoomlion, said: “Traditionally tower cranes have been used in India for development of housing and real estate projects. However, presently they are being extensively used in development of special economic zones, airport and metro railway projects. The new demand area from the Indian construction sector will provide good demand for tower cranes in the coming years.”

Sany chose Excon 2009 for the launch f its 45t RSC45-5M reach stacker for the Indian container handling industry. Apart from launching this new product, Excon was a platform for Sany to display existing products. Brahman and Pandey, chief marketing officer, Sany Heavy Industry India, said: “We have made our presence well felt at the exhibition by showcasing our wide range of lifting products to the visitors to strengthen our brand. Sany displayed its wide selling SCC 800 C 80t crawler and QY50 C 50t truck-mounted telescopic crane.

Sany plans to begin imports of its 1,000t crawler crane for major power projects in India. In recent months, it has appointed Gmmco Ltd to distribute its crawler cranes for the Indian market. The company will continue to import its cranes from China for the near future.

Zoomlion displayed its QUY 260 (260t) and QUY 80 (80t) crawler cranes. Martin Xuping said: “There is good demand for crawler cranes with lifting capacities varying from 70-260t from the power and refining sector in India. Based on the growing demand, we would look to promote both our light and medium segment crawler cranes bearing lifting capacities ranging from 50-100t and 160- 260t. However, we would also look to promote our heavier capacity 350-1,000t crawler cranes as well.” Zoomlion has sold several units of the QUY 260 crawler for construction of the Essar Refinery project in Western India.

“Zoomlion has supplied products for construction of steel and power plants, ports and other industrial projects globally,” said Xuping. “Along with supplying products, we have also provided knowledge support in execution of the projects. Through our increased association with distributors we would look to provide similar project erection knowledge and product support to potential customers in India.” Action Construction Equipment Ltd is the authorised distributor for Zoomlion’s crawler and tower cranes in India.

Indian owned ABG Cranes announced its new indigenously developed 80t hydraulic crawler. The ABG 1080 will lift the maximum load of 80t at 4m working radius supported by a basic boom length of 13m; at full boom of 58m it can lift 15.4t at 12m working radius. The full boom length of the ABG 1080 comes from a 13-58m boom length and jib length from 9-18m.

The 80t crane comes with a 24.3t counterweight and is powered by Caterpillar diesel engine 3306B, which runs at 242kW at 2,000 rpm. Hydraulics are from Rexroth and Lined; winches are from TMA Italy. According to R B Pandey, general manager marketing, ABG Cranes Ltd, the crane will find its application in upcoming power, refinery and cement plant projects.

Pandey said ABG will also be manufacturing 160-260t lattice boom crawler cranes. The cranes are expected to be launched during 2010. The new cranes will be promoted to the power sector. The higher capacity cranes are at a designing stage. Pandey said ABG will also be manufacturing rubber-tyred gantry cranes and tower cranes.

ABG is the authorised distributor for Fushun Yongmao flat-top and top kit tower cranes in India. The cranes have a lifting capacity ranging from 4-50t. It also distributes Terex's Changjiang range of Chinese manufactured 8–130t truck mounted cranes in India.

XCMG planned to launch its new QUY 70t crawler crane at the show. Unfortunately, a vessel delay at Chennai port in South India did not allow the company to bring the crane to the venue. Sandeep Nirmal, deputy general manager, marketing, Syncon Infrastructure, said: “The QUY 70t crawler is CE certified and costs up to 30% less than European products in the same class. It has a basic boom length of 13m and maximum of 58m. The machine has a counterweight of 35t.” Syncon is a consortium of Chinese construction equipment manufacturers comprising XCMG, Jianglu, Liugong and Pengpu. Nirmal said: “XCMG would look to promote the cranes to industrial project developers.”

Escorts Construction Equipment Ltd (ECEL) displayed lifting products both from its own stable and through new distribution agreements. ECEL entered into distribution collaboration with Zoomlion in July 2009 to market the Chinese company's truck mounted cranes in India. Rajesh Sharma, vice president marketing, ECEL, said: “Under our present tie up with Zoomlion we would be marketing Zoomlion’s truck cranes from 20-150t and all terrain cranes with a lifting capacity ranging from 180-350t in India.

“With the new tie up, we will be able to offer complete lifting solutions. This would span across our own yard and slew cranes, rough terrain cranes, lorry loaders from Fassi, crawler cranes from IHI of Japan and tower cranes from Wei Hai Huata,” he said.

ECEL has also entered into a marketing collaboration with Manitou of France for its multipurpose telescopic handlers and self-propelled aerial work platforms. Sharma said: "The telescopic handlers will be used for tunnel rib erection in underground metro railway projects in India and warehouse site erection.” Manitou has entered into a distribution tie up with Dozco India to market its tyre handlers for the Indian mining sector.

JCB India Ltd launched its JCB Lift All 1253 yard crane at Excon. The Lift All 1253 has been relaunched by JCB after certain product modifications. The Lift All 1253 has a maximum lifting capacity of 12t at 1.9m working radius, and a minimum 2t at 10.02m working radius. The equipment comes with a three-part telescopic boom extension. It has a maximum boom extension of 10.2m. The Lift All 1253 is powered by a Kirloskar diesel engine providing 56 HP at 2,000rpm.

JCB also displayed its 1202 Lift All yard crane. Amit Gossain, vice president marketing, JCB India said: “The Lift All 1203 will be launched in 2010 for commercial use.” The crane has a maximum lifting capacity of 12t at 1.9m working radius. The Lift All 1202 has a maximum boom length of 6.2m, at which it can lift 3.5t. The crane is powered by a Kirloskar 4R810 engine with a rated power of 56hp at 2,000rpm.

Gossain said: “The JCB Lift All1253 will be promoted to the container handling sector, owing to its extended boom length. The 1202 will be for mining and quarry applications.

The 1202 would be ideal for lifting granite and stone slabs.” The cranes will be marketed to the equipment rental industry and to corporate customers in India.

Action Construction Equipment (ACE) launched its new TM 400 truck-mounted telescopic crane. The TM 400 comes with a maximum lifting capacity of 40t at 2.75m working radius. It has a four-part boom with a maximum boom height of 33m. The four-axle truck-mounted crane has two outriggers of 6m each. The crane is mounted on an Indian Ashok Leyland truck chassis. The equipment is powered by an Ashok Leyland water cooled diesel engine delivering 205hp at 2,500rpm. The crane can travel at a top speed of 60kph. ACE also manufactures 23t and 14t truck-mounted cranes.

Sorab Agarwal, director, ACE, said the crane is aimed at industrial project sites. ACE also manufactures yard cranes with a capacity range of 3–20t. Agarwal said: “We have carried out modifications in our 9-20t capacity yard cranes. The modifications have been made through improvements in cabin design, providing curved glass to ensure visibility of front tyres. The yard cranes have been equipped with improved tampered counterweight to avoid ground friction while working in hilly and rough terrain areas."

ACE claims a 51% market share in the Indian yard cranes market. The company has been exporting its yard cranes to the Middle East, South Africa, Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria. It has recently appointed dealers in Iran and South Arabia.

Agarwal said: “We lay emphasis on customer service support. We are increasing our service locations to 125 points across India, fromthe present 80 service locations." ACE has five manufacturing centres at Faridabad and one at Uttranchal near Delhi. It will be opening a new plant at Faridabad in 2010.

Liebherr launched its 71 EC-B 5 flat top tower crane to the Indian market at the show. The crane has a maximum lifting capacity of 5t at a radius of 15m; at 50m maximum jib it can lift 1t. Pulok Gupta, managing director and head of sales, Liebherr India, said: “The 71 EC-B 5 is ideal for supporting real estate, commercial and high rise building projects.” Liebherr plans to sell 20 units of the 71 EC-B 5 by 2011.

Liebherr also plans to launch its 90 ECB 6 tower cranes in India. The crane has a maximum lifting capacity of 6t at 15m working radius, and 1.4t at a jib length of 50m. It will soon begin imports of the 110 EC-B 6, with maximum capacity of 6t at 20m, and 1.5t at a jib length of 55m. Liebherr plans to launch the new models in January 2010. The cranes will be aimed at real estate projects.

Gupta said: “Apart from positive demand for tower cranes from the real estate sector we are equally bullish on demand for tower cranes from high-end infrastructure projects mainly from hydro and thermal power projects. High-end infrastructure projects are a new area where tower cranes are finding increasing application in India.” Liebherr has supplied its 630 ECH 40 tower cranes for Essar’s steel plant construction in western India. Liebherr proposes to promote its tower crane through direct sales to corporate customers and also through tie-ups with rental companies.

Manitowoc is equally positive on demand for tower cranes from high-end projects. Raman Joshi said: “Tower cranes are finding increased applications in high-end projects in India. This is because completion schedules are becoming increasingly time bound.

Besides, construction complexities in core projects, pertaining to lifting heavy materials and structural components, are also increasing demand for tower cranes in big projects.”

Potain’s M-4 16t tower crane and MC 310 16t special have been extensively used for the recently completed world class, Mumbai-Worli sea link project at Mumbai in Western India. The cranes were used to lift prefabricated steel structures and for pouring concrete at piers. Joshi said: “With demand from the high-end construction sector, we would be looking to sell high capacity tower cranes in India. While total customer support can be ensured through our 24-hour Crane Care support network.”

Manitowoc manufactures 5-16t tower cranes in India; it imports 25-50t tower cranes from France. Lee Ling, sales manager South Asia, Zoomlion, said: “We would increasingly look to promote our high capacity tower cranes in the Indian construction market. The high capacity cranes would be promoted to power project developers, steel plants airport projects.” Lee added: “Zoomlion’s 10-12t capacity tower cranes have been used for construction of high end projects in India.” Zoomlion manufactures tower cranes with capacity range from 6-63t. It claims to have about 30% market share of tower cranes in India. The company has sold 300 tower cranes in India since its distribution tie up with ACE in 2004.

Big plans
Tractors India Ltd (TIL) participated in Excon jointly with Manitowoc. It announced a large scale manufacturing expansion programme to roll out new lifting products. TIL is in the process of developing 40-50t rubber-tyred and rail mounted gantry cranes for container handling in technical collaboration with Paceco Corp of USA (a subsidiary of

Japan’s Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding). S K Bhatnagar, president, TIL said: “Our engineers have recently returned from Japan following completion of their six months training.” TIL is also in the process of developing electric luffing cranes for bulk material handling under technical collaboration with Famak of Poland.

Bhatnagar said: “The new products are at prototyping stage.” The new products would be manufactured at its upcoming plant near Kolkata. The new plant is expected to be commissioned in September 2010. TIL is in the process of developing a sound vendor base for its new range of products and will provide a vendor park in its new facility to assist vendors in setting up their facility in the same premises.

TIL would also be developing its new range of 8-10t truck-mounted cranes under technical collaboration with Grove. Bhatnagar said TIL is also in the process of updating the design of its 40-75t mobile cranes. The updated models would be equipped with advanced hydraulics and safety features with superior lifting capabilities. Bhatnagar said: “TIL, in accordance with its policy of continuously enhancing service delivery to its customers, will add more branches to its national network of 40 branches so as to be still closer to customers.”

TIL manufactures a range of lifting equipment from 12-75t capacity including industrial cranes, truck mounted cranes and rough terrain cranes under technical collaboration from Grove. It also manufactures reach stackers, electrical luffing cranes and rubber-tyred gantry cranes for ports and ICDs in India.

TIL is the authorised distributor of Manitowoc crawler cranes in India. Under the collaboration, TIL offers 17 models of crawler cranes ranging from 80-900t. TIL is the Indian distributor of Grove’s 30-120t rough terrain cranes, 35- 450t all terrains and 40-75t truck mounted cranes. TIL distributes Manitowoc’s Yard Boss and Shuttle Lift industrial cranes in India.

Apart from launching new products, Excon 2009 was a ground for brand building and concept promotion for new products. Palfinger chose the venue to disseminate information about its range of truck-mounted knuckleboom cranes, hook loaders and railway solutions. Palfinger has recently acquired land in Chennai in Southern India to undertake assembly of cranes.

C S Koreinfra Engineering promoted its distribution of Italian TCM truck mounted cranes. Sowmil Shah, director, C S Koreinfra said: “We have been looking to promote the utility and versatile loading features of the trucks, which would be of value to Indian customers.”

“TCM has not been able to make headway in India owing to its high price factor. However, newly promoted TCM cranes in technical collaboration with a Chinese manufacturer are expected to make them cheaper in India,” Shah added.

The new cranes are expected to be introduced in May 2010.