Page 73 - Built Expressions - Online Construction Magazine - November 2014 Issue

Industry Interaction Construction equipment market is not a fat market but a cyclical market of about 4 to 5 years. When the surge occurs we are equipped to triple our current production. BE: What are the proactive steps being taken as such by the construction equipment industry to bring in extra awareness among the professionals in terms of equipment usage? A core step has to be taken by the construction industry to bring awareness for the need of professional equipment usage. We hold training programmes to our customers and dealers for a better handling of equipments. Our Rasta, Center for Road Technology is an initiative to provide necessary skill sets required for infrastructure construction in India. Through collaboration with Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), we conduct M.Tech course and extended course for highway engineering and general construction related topics. We equip our Mr. A M Muralidharan customers with knowledge on soil bearing capacities, road President, Volvo Construction Equipment construction technologies through consultancy services. Rasta’s laboratory comprises professors, consultants Ever since our operations in India, we have been and students who constantly work on bringing better introducing new products every three years. During the construction services. We also run classes and training bleak market scenario, we have invested in our factories and program for government organizations like PWD and we are expecting the market boom to take place. engineers and highway engineers. By working with National Construction equipment market is not a fat market but Skill Developing Corporation, we are training rural and a cyclical market of about 4 to 5 years. When the surge poor people in order to combat shortage of skilled labour occurs we are equipped to triple our current production. workforce in this industry. Once our expectations from government policies, focus on infrastructure projects and right decisions from authorities BE: How do you analyze the growth of construction are met, we envisage 10% market growth and 2016-17 can a industry in the last fve years in the frame work of be peak year for construction equipment market. construction equipments market? In the coming years, the major positional segments In 2011 and 2012, we witnessed an excellent market for for our products are infrastructure and road segment. In construction industry, 2012 was at the peak with a good addition, road construction leads to quarrying—cutting proft too. But the construction equipment market started and breaking stones in quarrying require our range of dropping from the second quarter of 2013 as the projects machines. If the government encourages mining with were stalled because of the indecisiveness of the previous suitable policies, we see potential coal and iron ore mining government on the investment for infrastructure projects segments too in the years ahead. Smart cities development and we could not retain contractors and we still continue to largely depends on road connectivity, there too lies a huge be in the same situation. This year too, it’s a lower market potential for us to tap the market. BE for excavators and wheel loaders; however, road machinery market has remained same since last year. Vinutha V & Sanjana M Vol: 3 Issue: 11 November 2014 Built Expressions PG 73