Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers’ Association (ICEMA)

The objective of ICEMA is to promote and protect the interests of those engaged in the manufacture, import, sales & repair of Earthmoving, Construction & Material handling equipment / machinery for mining, infrastructure and Industrial purposes.

Established in 1949 as Tractor and Allied Equipment manufacturers and Importers Association Ltd., the association was started with 10 Indian member companies, primarily manufacturers and importers of tractors, earthmoving and allied equipment. It was rechristened as Indian Earthmoving and Construction Industry Association Ltd. (IECIAL) in 1986 with the objective to make the body a national point of reference for the Indian earthmoving and construction equipment industry. The association was renamed as Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association (ICEMA) in 2012 with the objective to make it a truly representative body of the Indian construction equipment industry and to expand its scope of services. ICEMA is affiliated to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

Mr. Amit Gossain, president, Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association, says, "ICEMA was created with the vision of providing a single point of reference for the construction equipment industry. The idea was to adequately represent all segments of the industry: OEM’s, component manufacturers and financiers.  It is the only industry association in India representing the CE industry. ICEMA at present represents 57 leading companies who manufacture, trade and finance a wide range of earthmoving and construction equipment.”

Meeting the Needs of ECE

During the last two decades, the earthmoving and construction equipment industry has made enormous progress and grown both in size and diversity. Growth in the construction equipment industry in India is linked to the overall level of infrastructure development as well as growth in construction activity. India’s earthmoving and construction equipment (ECE) industry has enjoyed strong growth over the last years as a result of rapid economic development in the country.  In order to meet the needs of the Indian Construction equipment Industry, ICEMA has been actively engaged in the following initiatives:

• To meet the huge demand of the operators and maintenance personnel of construction equipment industry, ICEMA has set up the Infrastructure Skill Council in collaboration with NSDC for training of the operators. The Governing Body of the Council include representatives from equipment manufacturers, construction companies / associations, Department of Heavy Industry and NSDC. With the support of the ICEMA members, the council will spearhead the skill development initiative of the industry. It would work on developing National Occupational Standards and Curriculum for operator trainings. Existing training centers of ICEMA members would be affiliated to IESC for conducting trainings. IESC would also engage other concerned training centers for conducting training of the operators. The Council has set up the office at Bangalore and has appointed its Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer.

• ICEMA has been interacting with the Department of Heavy Industry (DHI) for the approval of the Test Centre for the Construction equipment Industry. We have submitted a detailed proposal on setting up of a ‘Testing and Certification centre’ for construction equipment industry. The Cabinet Committee on Economic approved the "Testing and Certification Centre" for Earthmoving machineries.

• ICEMA had recommended reduction of excise duty from 12% to10% and for extension of the same rate of excise duty for the current financial year. The excise duty on construction equipment was reduced to 10% and the Government has decided to extend excise duty concessions for capital goods by six months to 31 December 2014 in the interim budget 2014-15.

Challenges of Construction Equipment Industry

The construction equipment industry is optimistic because of the modifications in the infrastructure, construction and mining sectors in India. There is a positive trend in equipment sales as more players are entering into the industry. No doubt, the demand for construction equipment in India include heavy investments in various infrastructural projects by public and private enterprises in areas like road construction and maintenance, ports, power plants, telecommunication sector, urban infrastructural developments etc. Going ahead, there will be new opportunities to the industries when smart cities, clean India and fast train projects are implemented in India. Additionally, the entry of international and domestic players has led the market to open up. Yet, in the given scenario, the construction equipment industry is dented with challenges too.

First and foremost, the lack of skilled manpower is one of the challenges that the industry is currently grappling with. The availability of skilled manpower for construction equipment is becoming an issue in India, with a potential shortage of around 20 percent anticipated by 2015. If the industry grows as predicted, the gap could widen to 30 percent by 2020 as shown by the recent report by AT Kearney.  Infrastructure Equipment Skill council (IESC) has already started its operation with the support from ICEMA and further with the support of the members, the council will spearhead the skill development initiative of the industry.

The council would work towards developing National Occupational Standards and Curriculum for operator training. Existing training centers of ICEMA members would be affiliated to IESC for conducting trainings. IESC would also engage with other concerned training centers for conducting training of the operator. Import of low quality machinery is another challenge that our industry is facing. “As an industry body, we believe that the Government should look at restricting multiple port entry to avoid dumping of low quality used equipment. We should have a single port entry system as it will allow us to better examine the machines on various parameters like safety, emission etc.,” he adds.

ICEMA to Aid World Class Infrastructure

ICEMA proposes to interact closely with the State government for infrastructure development at the state level that would include urban infrastructure development and construction of rural roads. The main objective of these initiatives would be application of state-of-the-art technology for building world class infrastructure and ICEMA will play an important role in these activities.

ICEMA also plans to involve itself in the International Technical Committee to discuss on technical matters and to collaborate with concerned International Organizations / Associations for mutual benefits. This Committee deals with standards, homologations, emission norms and other technical matters. ICEMA has started taking part in the International exhibitions on the Construction equipment Industry. The objective of this initiative is to promote Indian Construction Equipment Industry globally.