The need of the hour is higher productivity and lower fuel consumption; at Volvo, we want to bring in technology, higher efficiency, higher productivity and lower fuel consumption, too, says AM Muralidharan, President, Volvo Construction Equipment, India. Excerpts from the interview.

As per Off-Highway Research, crawler excavators will be the fastest growing product of the near future, and its demand should grow to over 30,000 units in the next four to five years. Excon 2013 bears testimony to the fact that OEMs are gearing up for the anticipated demand for excavators. Some of the leading players either launched new models or showcased upgraded versions. Volvo CE launched two productive and powerful models in the D Series - EC220D and EC300D; JCB showcased its completely

Though the Indian economy is recovering slowly, foreign construction equipment companies seem to be still bullish on its future. This optimism was once again reinforced by a big jump in the number of foreign participants in Excon 2013. Excon 2013 witnessed the participation of over 20 countries from across the globe.

Shriram Equipment Finance Co (SEFC) has chalked out aggressive growth plans for this fiscal. SEFC, which commenced its operations in October 2011 in the construction equipment finance space, aims to double its disbursements across all states in the country in next 3-6 months. SEFC has already attained a book size of over Rs 3,400 crore and is one of the largest and most profitable NBFC in this segment.

Tata Motors expects a modest growth in the construction and mining sectors in the fourth quarter of this fiscal, or early next fiscal. Addressing reporters at Excon 2013, CII´s construction equipment expo, Vinod Sahay, who heads sales and marketing of medium and heavy commercial vehicles at the company, said that currently the industry is in a slowdown phase

As with any product that requires a large one-time capital expense, financing is a good way for the construction equipment industry to spark demand and acquire new customers. In 2011, India´s earthmoving and construction equipment (ECE) financing industry was valued at Rs 23,000 crore according to the report titled `Roadmap for Realising ECE Industry´s Long Term Potential` released at Excon 2013.

Bangalore, 23 November 2013: As with any product that requires a large one-time capital expense, financing is a good way for the construction equipment industry to spark demand and acquire new customers. In 2011, India’s earthmoving and construction equipment (ECE) financing industry was valued at Rs.23,000 crore according to the report on “Roadmap for Realising ECE Industry’s Long Term Potential’ released at CII EXCON 2013 - South Asia’s Biggest Construction Equipment Event.

In spite of the present slowdown and resultant sluggishness in the CE market, the long- term growth prospects are still intact; and experts view the huge infrastructure deficit as a major growth driver and prudent steps from the government can bring India back on the growth trajectory.

The focus will be on building Indian industry readiness for global product development demand.NASSCOM launched a Special Interest Group (SIG) for the construction and heavy engineering (C&HE) sector to radically advance industry readiness for captive consumption and meet global demand for products and design solutions from India.