What are the milestones achieved by your company under your leadership?
CASE Construction Equipment is a brand of CNH Industrial N.V., a global leader in the capital goods sector that, through its various businesses, designs, produces and sells agricultural and construction equipment, trucks, commercial vehicles, buses and
specialty vehicles.
CASE India has consistently remained a market leader in the Vibratory Compactor segment and the only company to have sold over 11,000 units in India. With more than 25,000 Loader Backhoes and 300 Motor Graders sold in the country, CASE India is a Top Tier player in these product segments. CASE’s R&D team constantly endeavours to develop clever innovations to make equipment more fuel efficient for reducing emissions on the environment. The company has introduced Eagle Eye Telematics System, a real time vehicle tracking and communication based on GPS technology that helps deliver better value for money.
Looking at the nature of projects we still have many milestones to unfold in the construction equipment segment. We are working on the need of the customers and have a lot of work being done. Rest of it you may be able to witness at EXCON 2019.
Tell us about the recently launched products and their winning technological features that will suit the Indian construction scenario.
CASE R&D team constantly endeavours to develop clever innovations to make equipment more fuel efficient and introduce latest technologies and solutions for better performance and comfort. Recently we upgraded our range with Eagle Eye Telematics System, a real time vehicle tracking and communication based on GPS technology which can help keep a track of your machine for example if the fuel box is empty or the machine is working far away from its prescribed geographic area it automatically sends a message regarding the same to the concerned person hence controlling the overall activity of a machine.
CASE India has also added the Soil Compactor with ROPS/FOPS HVAC Cabin 1110EX-D and CASE 752EX Tandem compactor powered by FPT engine to its existing fleet of compactors and the Center Pivot model with 96HP model in Loader Backhoe segment. Apart from this, CASE India has upgraded many equipment in its product range including Compactors 450 DX Mini compactor, Loader backhoe 770 EX-Pro, 770 EX Magnum-Pro and 851 EX-Pro, Motor Grader 865 B, Crawler dozer 2050 M and Skid Steer loader SR130.
CASE India’s 865B Motor Grader, fitted with electronic FPT engine is ideal for mining applications. It comes with unique ‘Multiradius moldboard design’ that provides mixing effect which does not only push the material on ground but also rolls it. CASE 865B Grader is also equipped with hydraulic pitch control feature which helps operator to control moldboard pitch adjustment from cabin itself hence high productivity as well as operator comfort. It also has closed HVAC (Air conditioning and heating) ROPS/FOPS cabin for better operator comfort and safety which is essential in tough application like mining.
CASE 2050 M is powered with FPT Industrial 6.7 litre 6 cylinder engine. 2050 M Dozer equipped with hydrostatic transmission to provide best in class draw bar pull capacity and lower maintenance and operating cost best suited for tough terrain conditions. The 2050M also features automatic blade functions, further increasing the operator’s efficiency. Easy service and maintenance is achieved through easy access ground level service check points. The cab can be tilted to provide full access to all main powertrain components. The operator can customise all the working parameters of the machine to achieve excellent controllability and faster cycle times. The automated functions in the cab, which includes an electrohydraulic joystick to customise the reversing and steering sensitivity, make the drivers’ job easier, allowing them to achieve shorter cycle times and boost their productivity.
Looking at the nature of projects, we are consistently working to improve ourselves on a daily basis to meet the customer needs and present them with the desired output. Additionally, to enable easy access for customers to dealers and after-sales services, the company has expanded its network with nearly around 74 dealers with nearly 300 touch points spanning the length and breadth of the country to support the products with spares and service even in remote locations.
Quality and pricing – how will you balance this equation to cater to a price-sensitive market?
Price is based on industry dynamics- growth factors, labour availability, demand-supply equation and other aspects of economy. Indian market is one of the toughest markets in the world because of the Cost/Quality Metrics which the Indian customers apply but at the same time it is also growing. It has not reached the matured market stage so one can see a lot of growth coming from first time buyers and first time users. 50 per cent of the market is still first time buyers and first time users, especially in the loader backhoe segment.
Localisation is another factor which controls pricing. So if you really have to break into the Indian market, localisation becomes a key aspect of the business strategy and we have put a lot of emphasis on localisation of manufacturing process.
Our mantra to play in a price sensitive market is to maintain a balance between our best-in-class offering and cost effective mechanism.
Your viewpoint on the market demand dynamics. How do you foresee the future for the equipment manufacturers?
At present the market is facing a bit of slump. Amidst the stagnant economic growth, infrastructure and construction activities have also slowed down. Continued slowdown in project awards, payment delays to contractors and the overall uncertainty in the economy have led to a sharp decline in expenditure on roads in FY2020. But the silver lining remains in the hands of government and they have come up with certain plans which could make the market bounce back to its positive streak.
In a bid to further give a push to the country’s infrastructure, the government has set up a task force to draw up plans for building infrastructure worth Rs 100 lakh crore ($1.4 trillion) over the next five years. The NHAI has been spending nearly Rs 70,000 crore annually on road construction; NHAI is also trying to involve private investments to improve the sector’s crises. To make the environment conducive, the government has also approved a slew of measures for speedy resolution of legal issues and infusion of liquidity into the construction sector. With these aiding steps we expect some stability in the demand in near future.
What are the problems that are proving as stumbling blocks for the growth of this sector? What should be done to give a boost to this sector?
Litigations, slow progress of projects, fewer awards of contracts, limited budgetary support, high risk aversion of public sector banks to infrastructure projects, liquidity position of NBFCs, disruption in construction activity during monsoon and high cost of land acquisition are some prominent factors adversely affecting the sector. Nonetheless, the government is announcing mid-term policies to ease the situation and we are hopeful that the improvement in the above mentioned factors can result into reversal of fortunes.
As far as your company is concerned, how well equipped are you to make deeper inroads into the market? Are you planning to scale up the manufacturing capacity?
CASE India is highly praised for its quality products and innovative technology. We have a dedicated R&D team which constantly endeavours to develop clever innovations to make equipment better fuel efficient, and brings in latest technologies and solutions for better performance and user-operator comfort. To ensure better maintenance of equipment, CASE India has a centralized toll-free customer care number where one can call for after-sales services, thus minimise downtime and maintain production schedules. For the ease of customers, we have also introduced the customer version of service mobile app using CASE eSeva where customers can directly reach us and the response time can be tracked. CASE India ensures that the problem raised is responded within 8 hours and solved within 24 hours after the registration of the complaint. We also have a dedicated training centres in order to tackle the issue of skilled manpower, that host training programs all-round the year for operators and customers to constantly keep them updated with the latest practices and techniques.
To ensure easy access for customers to dealers and after-sales services, the company has expanded its network with nearly around 74 dealers with nearly 300 touch points spanning the length and breadth of the country to support the products with spares and service even in remote locations.
Thus, we are fully equipped in all possible ways to serve our existing customers and to make further inroads in the country.
When it comes to increasing our capacity, our Pithampur site is spread over 40 acres of land, of which 29,000 square meters of area is covered. With an annual capacity of more than 7500 units on a single shift basis we have enough flexibility to cater to the current market requirements. The plant holds both ISO 9001:2000 quality and ISO 14000 environmental standards certifications.
In May, 2017, WCM Audit awarded CASE’s Pithampur plant the prestigious BRONZE Level Certification with involvement of 10 Technical Pillars and 10 Managerial pillars. We are definitely planning on increasing the capacity further of our manufacturing plants. We will let you know about the plan before its execution.