Escorts JCB Limited (EJCB) started operations in India in 1979. EJCB is a joint venture between J C Bamford excavators Limited and the Escorts Group. JCB is ranked among the top five manufacturers of earthmoving and construction equipment in the world. indiamarkets spoke to EJCB’s Business manager (India Operations), Tom Cornell.

indiamarkets: According to you, what are the problems that the Indian construction equipment industry faces today?
Tom: One of the main difficulties is that there is not much construction work to do in terms of road and other development works. A lot of international products are coming in. One of the main constraints is that the Indian customer uses his machine for longer duration than expected, as compared to European or American customer. Our backhoe loader or 3D does around 3000-3500 hours a year. In the UK, the machine will not be used for more than 1500 hours. So the structures and design of the machine have to be conducive to Indian conditions.

indiamarkets: Though the Indian construction market has not developed, why is it that many foreign companies are setting up their base here in India. Is it that all are eyeing for the same, small pie?
Tom: I wouldn’t say that the Indian construction market is not developed. It is developing quickly. The growth rate is good. If you look at the involvement of major construction companies in Excon 2000, you will see how keen everyone is to have a slice of the same pie.

indiamarkets: What are your main products in the Indian market?
Tom: JCB has until recently had only one main product – the JCB 3D backhoe loader, for the Indian market. The two models of backhoe loader – JCB 3D and JCB 4CX have over 80 per cent market share of the Indian market. In the Backhoe loader market, JCB is No.1. We will soon launch a couple of excavators for the Indian market. We intend to capture the excavator market too.

This year we have introduced Robot 160 and 170 skid steer loaders and we have also introduced JS200, a 20 tonne track excavator. Both the machines were launched in March. They are easy to use and offer greater operator comfort with easier maneuverability, targeting miners, stevedores, contractors, plant hirer, process industries and civic utilities. Both machines have been very successful.

indiamarkets: In terms of sales of number of backhoe loaders, how many machines do you manage to sell in the Indian market?
Tom: This year, we have sold approximately 2700 machines. The total market for the backhoe loaders was probably 3000. So we hold the majority share. The rest 300 machines came from other companies.

indiamarkets: How different is your participation at Excon 2000 as compared to your participation in other international fairs like BAUMA of Germany?
Tom: We have tried very hard at Excon to display JCB as a company at the same level of quality as we would anywhere else in the world. Other companies have put up a quality display as well. The quality of visitors also needs a special mention. In terms of business generated in the trade fair – it is absolutely fantastic. Recently Escorts Finance has launched a new finance scheme, wherein a customer can avail zero percent finance over a period of time. We have sold over 15 machines at this fair.

indiamarkets: The Escorts-JCB Dancing Diggers has been attracting each and every visitor of EXCON 2000. What do you have to say about this?
Tom: The Dancing diggers were earlier performed in March when our chairman, sir Anthony Bamford was in India. We had invited a lot of our customers and suppliers to meet him. It is here in Excon that we are for the first time displaying it to the public. The show highlights the maneuverability and deftness of the Excavator loaders. Indian operators have proven to be as competent if not more competent as any of the European or American operators.

indiamarkets: What are the new technologies you have brought into India?
Tom: JCB is looking at technology in two ways. First we are looking at improving technology at our factory. The tools and methods we use to actually build the machines – so we are looking at new CMC cutters and welding equipment and robots.

From the product point of view in the UK and in India, we are comfortably updating our products. We are aiming at efficient machines and constantly looking at introducing different types of machines in India to make construction work easier.

indiamarkets: How is IT used in the construction industry in Europe? How different is the scenario here in India?
Tom: IT is booming in India. We are using it to the fullest potential within our industry. One of the ways we are doing it is communication through the Net and through email. We are now able to communicate very quickly. We have a very large dealer network - about 138 branches in India - we need to have constant communication with each and every branch. The email and the Internet allow us to do that.

A service engineer goes to the customer, when the customer has a problem in the machine. The service engineer can take a picture with a digital camera, email it to the Head Ofiice (HO) in Faridabad. The guy sitting in the HO can communicate with the service engineer and try to fix the problem.

indiamarkets: During the conference a lot was talked about construction equipment bank. Do you think such a concept will really work in the Indian market? What are your views on the equipment bank?
Tom: The difficulty with finance in India is that India is a very big place. There is no one single finance company or finance house with a full reach. Having one bank that allows the purchasing of construction equipment will be fantastic to the people who can access it. For the people who can’t have access to the bank, obviously this concept will not benefit them.

In Europe, we have our own finance company – JCB Credit. We not only finance our own machines but finance other machines as well. It is proving to be a very effective way of marketing our products.

indiamarkets: Have you got similar plans for India?
Tom: Not at the moment.

The interviewer can be contacted at pradeep@indiamarkets.com