We are offering the same product to our Indian customers which are going to 100 plus countries from our India plant.

CASE Construction has always prioritised the customers’ needs and has offered products basis their requirements. The company’s machines are tailor-made for tough applications, versatile operations across terrains, and fulfil all the demands of the discerning Indian market. In an exclusive interview to CONSTRUCTION OPPORTUNITIES, SHALABH CHATURVEDI (SC), MD, CASE CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT &  EMRE KARAZLI (EK) – VP CE APAC,  CNH INDUSTRIAL, speak on the new machines launched at Bharat Construction Equipment Expo, Make in India and a lot more.

Detail us on the new products launched at Bharat Construction Equipment Expo.

(SC) We launched a total of 7 new products here, we have three new compactors, three new back-loaders and we have a new skid-steer loader launched in this exhibit.

The three compactors, the soil compactor was already significantly improved when BS-4 was done. So for soil compactor it is a BS-4 to BS-5 change on the engine. The 9-5-2 tandem compactor and the 450 mini compactor, they previously had undergone only a emission change. Now we have completely revamped the offering, the design. If you place the old machine and the new machine next to each other, you will not recognize that they are related to each other. They are so different from each other in terms of the innovation that we have put on the machine. It is a different design, a different beast that is there.

On back-loaders also, it is not just an engine change, it is a change in the design, the way the power weight management has been done on the machine. Even the boom structure, etc., they are all now different from what they used to be in the past. The cabin is much more comfortable for the operator. It is also ROPS-COP certified as it was before. So it is kind of a new range. On the skid-steer loader is the SR-175 which is also a stage 5 machine. As 50 HP is no longer a threshold for BS-4 to BS-5 that it used to be. Now the threshold is 25 HP. So as you move above 25 HP, everything has to be electronic engine. Therefore, we are getting away with the small skid-steer loader and going with the bigger skid-steer loader that we have now.

Can you please tell us one of the inspiring stories of your equipment that has created the magic in the industry or has impacted the life of your customers

(SC) I have a very recent example which I experienced in December. Close to Indore, there is a big pond called Sanjay Jalasha. And this pond, in fact it is a big lake actually and there is no boundary wall.

And there are lot of villages which are all around the Sanjay Jalasha. Every time in monsoons, the lake used to overflow and the houses and the villages used to get flooded in water. When there is less monsoon or less rains, the lake shrinks in size.

And the villagers are dependent on the water from the lake for everything. From drinking to every need of water is dependent on that lake. So what we did, using our equipment, we created first a boundary wall around the lake.

Then we established not a tree but a forest around the lake. So it is a Miyawaki plantation that we have done on the Japanese concept. So we have kind of built an entire forest around it.

So that the size of the lake kind of remains similar throughout the year and it does not overflow. When I went there to do, look at the assessment of the situation, our machines were working and things were looking much better there. All the villagers there, they came and hugged me and they were so thankful and they said that our monsoons are safe, our summers are safe. We are dependent on this water and this is the magic that our machines made.

Availability of skilled man power has always been a major concern, how are these product offerings going to address the issue of skilled man power through automation and digitalization?

(SC) So two things. First is the availability of skilled man power. That is the challenge. Earlier construction equipment operators used to be learning on the job. Huge experience that they earn and then they know. I mean even if you close the eyes, they will still manage to run the machine. These days it’s very difficult to get those kind of operators. One, because of general growth of employment in India, especially in delivery services, last mile solutions, a lot of people working in the logistics sector.

It’s difficult to attract younger people in the construction industry which involves a little hard work including working in the sun, working in hot conditions, So what we are doing. We are addressing it in two ways. First is the availability of man power for which we are doing through the skilled development council, through our corporate social responsibility. We are taking up youngsters who are misguided, lost. They don’t know what to do after class 10, class 12. They don’t have a formal education. We are taking those young boys and girls and training them on how to become a good operator. After the training, they are free to join any company.

Some join our company, some join our competitors as well. Some join factories, manufacturing plants, as a blue collar worker. So we collectively as an association and also individually as companies are working in creating this supply base of the skilled man power.

Second is how can we make our machines intuitive for even a semi-skilled operator to run the machine like a skilled operator. And that is where we are adding, from an automation perspective and more innovation point of view, the levers which earlier used to require muscular people to move the levers. Now it is like a feather.

Joysticks are there.

One backhoe on display is having a joystick here as well. So it is as easy as playing a video game now, running those machines. Even the graders used to have 8 levers for different functions of the grader. Now against the 8 levers, we have got just 2 joysticks. So these are the kind of innovations that we are bringing in the machine so that even a semi-skilled operator can run the machine successfully.

Travel time between Dehradun to Delhi has reduced drastically over the last 8 years. Now considering the fact that you have launched the machine, what are your plans to promote it on a digital level across India, across the length and breadth of this country?

(SC) The distance between Dehradun and Delhi has been reduced thanks to our machines because the road construction was done using our compactors. And I am very happy to be a part of that journey reduction because I am also a direct beneficiary of that. Second, from a digital platform point of view, we are taking our machines on the digital through the website, through mobile application, through the My Case app that we have launched, which is a telematics app which gives a full end-to-end solution to the customers, the stakeholders.

We are going through social media, through Instagram, through Facebook, through LinkedIn because our customers are no longer having the feature phones. All the customers, all the operators have at least an Android phone today and they all are watching Reels, they are consuming different kinds of social media. So we are using that channel as well.

We are generating a lot of leads. We are selling a lot of machines through digital platform. Nobody thought that a machine worth 30-40 lakh rupees can be sold over a social media channel.

But now it is happening. So these are the things that we are seeing change over the period of last, I would say 2-3 years. Social media has really picked up at the lowest of the strata of the society.

(EK) And that global approach is not only for India, this connectivity logic is globally for all the CNH machines and it helps us to consolidate basically when we launch a new product, for example, when it is connected globally. You can then understand what has been the customer feedback, etc. And also it all goes back to our engineering department now, which they are looking, okay, we did this, it didn’t work well, so probably we will need to improve that part of the machine in the new launch, etc.

So this information is not just for the after-sales, but it is even one step ahead. We are taking all this, going to engineering, as a feedback coming directly from the customer and going to our R&D department and engineering to improve our machine, our product, our process and everything. So it is a whole cycle.

Do you find the Indian customers more demanding than the counterparts in other countries like China, Singapore, other countries?

(EK) In India, mainly, I had the chance to visit all the south dealers of CASE and also customers, all the northern part and all the western part. They are probably even more demanding in terms of quality in terms of support from the supplier. Not less but probably more than many other countries in Asia. I can compare maybe with Korea and Japan where the end-user expectation is super high. Like they get very angry if your machine has a problem or if the after-sales support is not there on time. They go ballistic and India is not less than South Korea and Japan where the highest customer expectation is there.

I would compare maybe in Asia, in Africa, Middle East with Israel that the end-user expectation is very high. I can say South Korea, I can say Japan and India at the same level with those high demanding markets. That is a very clear observation on my side.

And which is good. It pushes us always to improve our process, our product, our competitive positioning in the market.

Otherwise, I mean, we would take it easy and give anything we want. We wouldn’t come with those products that we are launching today with much improved specs that we are offering. And we are not offering anything better also to other Asia-Pacific markets.

We are offering the same thing and this product they are going to 100 plus markets from our India plant.

We just completed the decade of Make in India initiative. How has Make in India helped in job creation in the sector?

(SC) Make in India has in the last decade, the manufacturing output from India has significantly increased. Factories have increased. A decade ago, we were making about 3,000 machines in Pitampur, now we are making close to 10,000 machines.

Which obviously cannot be done by the same manpower. So that has kind of multi-fold increased the employment that we have generated in Pitampur. Which also means that we have sold as many more machines in the field.

And each load of ACO generates at least 4 to 5 people employment. So there is an operator, there is a helper, there is a supervisor. So there is the entire catchment of people who are getting employment generated through construction equipment.

So by selling more machines, by producing more machines, there has been a significant job creation that has happened. We are seeing that already. And that is the reason why we are in a situation where we are facing a supply-demand challenge.

Whatever supply was created has already been consumed by the demand. And now we are in a situation at a crossroad where we are compelled to create these training schools, these development centres so that we can bring more and more people in the sector.

How are your product scalable in handling small-scale and high-scale projects?

(SC) So we have something called different, every price point and every application of the customer. So for example, on the backhoe loader, there is a NX machine, 770 NX, which is mainly for the, let’s say, the rental segment, the low-end spectrum of, where they just need the machine for basic artwork. At the moment, they don’t need any high-end specifications.

Then we have the Magma machine, which gives you more power, more force, more speed for pressure application, contractors, and they go there. Then we have the 851, which is going with a center pivot in uneven areas, so that you can even park your machine if one area of the ground is high, the other area of the ground is low, and you are still able to balance the machine there. And that machine has a capability of starting even at minus 20 degrees Celsius, which means that it can work anywhere along Bharat Mala, from Leh to Arunachal Pradesh, all across the Bharat Mala project.

Machines normally work in very difficult terrain. Uptime and maintenance are key factors, kindly elaborate.

(SC) So preventive is where digital has already come in picture. We have created a Construction Connect Center, a CCC is what we call it. It is a sort of a command center where all the machines, because all the machines are now connected with telematics.

Earlier in mechanical engine machines during BS3, the telematics used to be very primitive. It was giving you location of the machine, it was giving you whether fuel level is high or low, those kind of. But in electronic engine machines, there are more than 300 signals that the machine is relaying, that these telematics can capture and translate into something which is more meaningful for the operators or the owners of the machine. So through this Construction Connect Center, we are gathering all that data, analyzing that, and then relaying it back to the customer that for the last two hours, your machine is working on very high load. Why don’t you cool down the machine for the next 15 minutes and then start working again. So we are giving that call preventively, proactively by observing the machines through our CCC centers.

What are the grey areas that industry and government should look at and solve?

(EK) Grey areas are, I would say, twofold. First is on the import substitution. Imports, especially from, so in China for example, there is a huge installing capacity which was built for export. Now the market has slowed down there and they have unsaturated capacity. So now they are trying to look for growth markets. India is one of the growth markets where they are coming. Recently, government has taken some steps. For example, on wheel loaders, for the rock breakers because we were getting a lot of rock breakers from China and Korea which were getting dumped in India at a price which is lower than the cost. So there are still a lot of grey areas on the supplier component side which needs to be planted. Government is working on it. We just need to be more vigilant. Second is the challenge of grey exports from India. So many OEMs here are trying to officially export machines and build a brand name for India. The risk is that today the world is looking at India with a microscope. Is this as good as the product that they used to get from China. The A class product? Is this as good as the product that you make in your European factory? Is this as good as the product that you make in your American factory?

So there is a lot of scrutiny. Now if any machine is exported through the grey channel it lands up in a market it is not supported it does not have warranty but it spoils the name of brand India. And I think that is another big grey area.