Indigenised tipper for India-centric deep mining applications poised to make waves and cause a paradigm shift in the segment
BharatBenz 3143 made-in-India tipper model that premiered as a concept truck in the IAA 2014 show in Hanover, Germany created a sensation at that time in the trucking circles. The 31 tonner 8X4 truck could have been easily missed out as one of those upgraded versions from the Daimler portfolio but the same carrying the tag as Daimler India Commercial Vehicles’ (DICV’s) first indigenised tipper truck with 48 ton load rating for the deep mining segment caught the attention of many visitors including the curious competitors. It was positioned for the arduous duty cycles of carrying overburden typical in deep coal mining applications with excavation depths going up to 120 mtr. in India and certified for the total load carrying capacity. It was expected to be a game changer because of the higher HP & technical GVW, durability and lower TCO; and the developments since then have been keenly followed by the customers, industries and domain watchers for the commercial launch.
The model that has been going through various field trials and tests at actual site conditions is now ready as per the company for the field operations; and the first batch of trucks planned for delivery to customer applications by end June 15. To showcase the model and its performance, DICV organised for 3143 product presentations to the media at its Oragadam plant near Chennai on 17th Jun 2015; and followed it up with the ‘touch, feel and drive experience’ at the specially created show track simulating the conditions typically encountered in the mine site conditions.
Product presentation
Welcoming the gathering for the unique experience, Mr. Erich Nesselhauf, Managing Director and CEO, DICV, asked the participants to feel free, go ahead and try their hands on the steering wheel of 3143 for the show track drive experience. He said: “We are very proud to present the tipper, a product of high technology, quality and reliability developed entirely here, an ambassador of the ‘made in India’ initiative that will be offered for the local and export markets. We already have close to 700 units order intake before the market and this speaks volumes about the confidence of customers in the BharatBenz brand. By 2020 the deep mining segment will double up to 3,000 units. Our BharatBenz 3143 will be a game changer with low acquisition cost and its strong technological prowess. Better performance of parts and customer service ensures higher uptime of vehicles.”
Mr. Christoph Fitz, General Manager HDT Project-Thunderbolt began by saying that having so much discussions with customers, dealers and industries, the new truck has often been referred to as Thunderbolt model; though a compliment, it will be positioned as only 3143 heavy-duty tipper. Talking on the market approach he stated: “Our vision has been one of transforming. With so many product concepts in the market, one does not know which approach would suit the customer needs. DICV philosophy has been to understand the segment requirements first and then proceed to set up the core concept – bringing together the genes of the German organisation and the power and creativity of the Indian set-up to customise the product for the local applications. In the process the factors like safety, fuel consumption and TCO have been accorded great importance. The chassis has been strengthened for the higher load rating of 48 ton to suit mine applications; and adhering to commonality of parts, the costs have been kept under control to offer the best price to the customers.”
Mr. Christoph Fitz explained the typical needs for the tippers in coal mines. “Up to about 46 mtr. depth, the overburden transport can be effected by normal construction and mining tipper trucks – DICV has 2528 C and 3128 CM in its product portfolio to meet the needs. As one goes deeper up to a max 120 mtr., the overburden needs to be carried by high end tippers, currently dominated by the European makes. In this segment, 3143 will be positioned and with its trusted and proven OM 457 Mercedes-Benz engine, 12 litre capacity, 6 cylinder delivering 430 HP. 3143 will replace the Mercedes Actros in the segment over a period of time and take on the other European models by offering the most economical TCO. 3143 for mining comes with 19.5 cu.mtr. rock body while a longer wheelbase model with 32 cu.mtr. body will be offered for the coal transport applications, essentially in port areas.”
“Except the engine and transmission which are imported from Germany, the rest of the truck including the chassis have been engineered with local inputs; and development and testing done entirely by the BharatBenz team with indigenisation level up to 90%. The price of locally manufactured 3143 hence is expected to be 15% to 25% cheaper than the European trucks operating in the segment. With 48 ton technical GVW, we aim to garner bigger market share in the timeline ahead,” he added.
The testing of 3143 at various site conditions and the other salient design features were further elaborated by the lead engineer and testing in-charge thro’ slide presentations. They pointed out that the vehicles have been going through the tests at actual sites for over a year and now ready to meet the customer needs. To understand the site operations and severity of mine conditions, DICV created a show track in its plant with seven simulated stretches, viz., articulated, sand, gradient, speed, camel, bump and water trough. This was apart from their test track inside the plant where the vehicles are routinely tested for performance and quality parameters. The session ended with interactive question and answers and the participants then moved on to the show track action site – where the actual driving experience of 3143 awaited the media representatives.
Show track – Drive and interactions
3143 has that rugged and modern look with a higher cabin and ground clearance compared to 3128 CM, wider grill and standing tall on off road tyres. Despite its imposing size, it looked compact on the shorter wheelbase 8X4 configuration to provide that agility needed in mining applications. After getting inside the truck cabin, the view from the seat looked good; cabin sported all the functional features including the default A/C and AMT for driver comforts. The test driver explained the manual mode and power shift AMT and when to deploy it. Once the truck started moving, the ride looked smooth and gear shift not discernible in AMT mode. Even in the manual mode the gear shift happened seamlessly as the same occurred in milliseconds and there was no loss of power during the process – we recollected the point explained during the presentations. Going over the different sections of the show track definitely gave an idea of the likely mine site conditions. Articulation 300 mm up/down and bumpy stretches really pushed the truck to the extreme conditions and in the camel track the wheels got lifted and fell down again with the suspension dampening the shocks – with the full load in its rock body, a tough test indeed for the truck.
Getting down after the ride and looking at it from the ground level one could not but admire high-tech machine in battle-ready condition to take on the ‘mine challenges’. Following the ride, we had interactions with of Mr. Christoph Fitz and his technical team about the machine features, development cycle and the USPs for the markets – read on for the interesting insights.
Can you compare the salient technical features of 3143 vis-à-vis 3128 CM?
3143 is developed on the existing heavy-duty truck platform – the Mercedes-Benz Axor platform. The cabin is 180 mm higher to locate the bigger engine while the ground clearance is more due to the chassis configuration on off-road tyres. Cabin is the same and of course the engine and transmission are different. Complete chassis is very different and reinforced with higher grade materials. Suspension is again strengthened with different design concepts. Axles are different and load ratings higher – front 2 axles are 9 ton each & rear 2 axles 16 ton each while for 3128 CM, front 2 axles are 6 ton each & rear 2 axles 10 ton each. Many of the smaller parts are the same to maintain the commonality and prices of spares on the lower side.
The 3143 tipper has 48 ton load rating for off-road conditions and GVW of 31 ton on road – brief us on this difference in load rating.
3143 meets all CMVR for on road 31 ton GVW rated 8X4 truck. However, on the same platform the truck has been engineered for off-road applications of higher rating viz., 48 ton – the axle ratings have already been explained earlier. These types of vehicles have 2 types GVW, one for on road legal and the other technical in closed premises like the mines. The higher load rating of 48 ton has been certified by DGMS and this has been positioned for the deep mining applications against the 31 ton 8×4 European make trucks. As for the on road applications, the truck is too powerful and expensive when compared to the other conventional construction and tipper trucks though the contractor can deploy the same on roads complying with 31 ton GVW norms or for opening up the mine in the initial stages.
How does it compare and compete with off-road dumpers popular for deep mining applications?
Indian coal mining operations have two distinct business segments. Depending on the mine size and contracts, in the first type operations typically go on for 10 to 15 yrs while in the second model, this goes on for 25 yrs. In either of the cases, the operations are time bound and penalties for delays are on the steep side.
In the 15 yrs contract segment, it is advantageous for contractors to go the for tipper trucks. The investments are on the lower side, operations can be finished faster and ROI better. Dumpers start with minimum 60 ton rating and for the purchase of 1 unit, 3 nos. tipper can be bought. Also to be noted herein is that the procurement time for these dumpers is upwards of 6 months while the contractor has to mobilise his resources and begin operations typically in 4 to 8 weeks. Hence tippers with shorter delivery periods are again attractive for this contract model. For the 25 year contracts, the dumpers are invariably preferred over tippers based again on their techno-commercial considerations. Thus the tippers and dumpers do not compete with each other, rather have their own preferred unique application segments.
Can you share details on the testing of these vehicles, USPs, life and service support at site?
We have placed 6 vehicles to strenuous tests for the last 1 year at various customer locations – 3 nos. in India and one each in Indonesia, Abu Dhabi and Brazil to check the performance under different site conditions and against other competitor trucks. The field feedback has been encouraging and we expect these trucks to corner a big market share down the timeline. As regards durability and reliability, one can get up to 140 hrs more in the uptime of truck life cycle – taking 50 to 60 cu.mtr. of overburden carried in one hour by tippers working through 22 hrs per day and earnings of about Rs. 35 per cu.mtr. of payload, the economics of operation due to reliability factor can be inferred. The same is achieved by using longer life quality parts that ensure higher uptime, leading to increased productivity. These trucks doing about 60,000 to 80,000 km per year depending upon lead distances of 2 to 10 km in mines have a productive life cycle of 5 yrs for the applications.
We will use our established service network to support the customers and Gmmco our service partner thro’ their infrastructure at mine sites will attend to the service needs. As per Daimler’s policy, all the spare parts will be available at the site 3 months before the launch of products and the same will happen in the case of 3143.
Are the 3143 tippers meant mainly for India mining application? How about the export markets? What are the variants and their applications?
Deep mining applications are unique and not seen in many countries. This situation is there in Brazil and few other Latin American countries. In places like Australia, Indonesia and many other locations, coal is available at lower depths and other trucks and dumpers are hence popular. However 3143 variant with a longer wheelbase is currently being tested in Indonesia and in Krishnapatnam Port, A.P. for coal transport – a heavy-duty job requiring powerful and higher load carrying trucks. We will be coming out with 3 axle construction tipper or cab chassis application, 6X4 tractor for ODC and 2 axle tractor for exports during the course of this year.
We sign off from the test track with a gratified feeling that here is a product that will be rolling off the production lines of DICV in sync with ‘make in India’ initiative for deployment round the clock in the mines of India as well as other countries. The significant benefits that 3143 promises to offer to the customers is bound to make it as one of the sought after tipper trucks; and the same should also soon set the benchmark in the segment for the intended application. 3143 is undoubtedly yet another feather to Daimler’s cap and the indigenised model should contribute in its own small way to consolidating further company’s numero uno status in the trucking world.
