At IMME 2018, the China-based heavy-duty truck maker Sinotruk (CNHTC) previewed its first off-road wide body HOWO ‘Mine King’ 30 CU.M dumper truck for the Indian market. While introducing the brand to the domestic mining industry, the company revealed its plans to assemble trucks locally in the country after initial trials with local customers.
Sinotruk entered the Indian truck market with its 31-tonne on-road tippers in 2014, bagging orders of over 60 trucks for mine operation in and around Telengana. Briefing the roadmap for Sinotruk in India, Mr. Jeet Kasar, Country Manager – India, said: “With coal mining picking up, there is definite demand for mining trucks in India, with buyers eyeing fully-loaded and efficient dumpers. Burgeoning demand in the OHT market gives us greater scope to kick start the new brand in the country”.
The Mine King is powered by a 12.4 litre 480 hp diesel engine born out of MAN technology, although built by Sinotruk. A fully-automatic Allison 4600 ORS transmission delivers the engine power to the wheels. The company claims that the truck’s load-oriented design will appeal to mine operators in India, especially in place of on-road tippers. “Mining dumpers have clear cost and efficiency advantages… on-road tippers are not designed for mining, which results in unwanted maintenance costs and operational inefficiency”, he added.
Sinotruk is also promoting heavy-duty truck chassis of 4×4, 6×4, and 6×6 axle configurations belonging to 23, 41, and 39-ton GVW categories respectively. Powered by 9.7-litre, 6-litre diesel engines mated to a manual (10 forward and 2 reverse gears) gearbox, these models are best-suited for tough operating conditions and working cycles prevalent in India, the company claims.