KCEIL to set up hydraulic base in India
Kobelco Construction Equipment India (KCEIL), a joint venture between Japanese conglomerate Itochu Corporation of Japan and Kobelco Construction Machines has decided to set up a manufacturing base for hydraulic excavators in the country.
By TNN |
KOLKATA: Kobelco Construction Equipment India (KCEIL), a joint venture between Japanese conglomerate Itochu Corporation of Japan and Kobelco Construction Machines has decided to set up a manufacturing base for hydraulic excavators in the country.
“We will soon take up a feasibility study on setting up a manufacturing facility in India within the next two years. The Indian market looks very promising and is estimated to grow at 30-35% this year,” KCEIL executive director Kenji Sakamoto said on Thursday.
“Our aim is to position India as a hub to cater to the market in Asia. We would like to localise production to the extent of 40%, and perhaps import other components directly from our facilities in Japan and Thailand,” he added.
KCEIL which began operations in January 2007, is a 70:30 JV between Itochu and the $2.5-billion Kobelco Construction Machines whose 80% is owned by Kobe Steel.
KCEIL has launched Kobelco’s top line products — like 20 and 35 tonne hydraulic excavators — to grab a sizeable chunk of the market in India. These tonnages make up for almost 70% of the domestic market. The company has already bagged some 80 orders in the last few months with a dealer network across 22 states. Out of this, the eastern region, where KCEIL has appointed Suchita Earthmoving Solutions as its dealer, has contributed eight orders.
“There’s been a tremendous change in terms of technology awareness in India. Sectors powering demand for excavators include road construction, mining, power and ports,” said KCEIL president & CEO Vikram Sharma. This year, some 9,000 excavators are likely to be sold, he added.
In Japan, around 20,000 excavators were sold last year while the China market accounted for 40,000 pieces. But most of these were in smaller tonnages. India compared well with other developed markets in terms of high growth prospects and also in terms of higher tonnage excavators that are in demand.
“We will soon take up a feasibility study on setting up a manufacturing facility in India within the next two years. The Indian market looks very promising and is estimated to grow at 30-35% this year,” KCEIL executive director Kenji Sakamoto said on Thursday.
“Our aim is to position India as a hub to cater to the market in Asia. We would like to localise production to the extent of 40%, and perhaps import other components directly from our facilities in Japan and Thailand,” he added.
KCEIL which began operations in January 2007, is a 70:30 JV between Itochu and the $2.5-billion Kobelco Construction Machines whose 80% is owned by Kobe Steel.
KCEIL has launched Kobelco’s top line products — like 20 and 35 tonne hydraulic excavators — to grab a sizeable chunk of the market in India. These tonnages make up for almost 70% of the domestic market. The company has already bagged some 80 orders in the last few months with a dealer network across 22 states. Out of this, the eastern region, where KCEIL has appointed Suchita Earthmoving Solutions as its dealer, has contributed eight orders.
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Last year, 6,700 excavators were sold across the country — which is more than the total excavator sales in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Singapore. Given an average price of Rs 40-50 lakh, the value of the excavator market would amount to Rs 3,350 crore. The Indian market has in the last few years attracted most of the top MNCs in the excavator business like Volvo, JCB and Caterpillar.“There’s been a tremendous change in terms of technology awareness in India. Sectors powering demand for excavators include road construction, mining, power and ports,” said KCEIL president & CEO Vikram Sharma. This year, some 9,000 excavators are likely to be sold, he added.
In Japan, around 20,000 excavators were sold last year while the China market accounted for 40,000 pieces. But most of these were in smaller tonnages. India compared well with other developed markets in terms of high growth prospects and also in terms of higher tonnage excavators that are in demand.
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