The trade article that appeared a month ago in the BusinessLine newspaper could have been easily missed out or skipped as some routine reporting. However for the discerning bulk material domain watchers who have read the same, the implications thereof must have definitely got their adrenaline pumping. The article quoted the development as, “World trade has been low. India’s exports and imports have dipped. Yet, the goods moved by the country’s major ports have surged in 2015-16. The jump in cargo traffic in FY16 over the previous fiscal was due to a growth in bulk traffic at Kolkata, Haldia, Paradip, Mormugao and Kandla; and the key reasons for growth are an increase in coal shipments (coastal and imports), restart of iron ore exports (from mid-year) and increase in edible oil imports.”
Bulk cargo often referred to as ‘dirty cargo’ has suddenly become the darling of the domain players. The spurt of activities in the ports and mining segment against the backdrop of India continuing to occupy the slot of ‘fastest growing major economy in the world’, should indeed come as gratifying news to one and all. The momentum of business decisions and ground level actions is bound to rub on the sectors like construction, infrastructure, waste management, etc., sooner than later and that should herald the beginning of a purple patch for the tippers and tip trailers. Also the strong surge in CV sales over the last three quarters unambiguously indicates that the segment’s slump nightmare stretched for about three years, has finally ended; and all the segments including the tippers and tip trailers can now look forward to a healthy growth phase. In the changed scenario portending immense business potential, how are the various players right from OEMs to sub-assembly suppliers, body builders and fleet operators gearing up to address the unfolding challenges and opportunities? Well, read on for their interesting and erudite observations.
Models for challenges
Higher HP, better fuel efficiency, technology explosion in data management and stiff environmental regulations are some of the major factors pushing the manufacturers to reinvent themselves and launch new and upgraded versions of product offering – to stay in the market and pitch in for a larger share of the pie. Also they have realised that like in the passenger car segment, they need to position new models with significant improvements on a regular basis to sustain the customer interest against the background of their increasing product awareness, demands and expectations.
Construction and mining sectors account for the major share, about 80% of the tippers and tip trailers market. Construction tippers primarily utilise 16 & 25 tonner chassis models for carrying blue metal, sand, debris & various aggregates; also the 31 tonner 8X4 model is being increasingly sought for the applications. The segment being a high volume and TCO sensitive one, various companies launch aggressive marketing campaigns and position newer models at regular intervals. The construction tippers with minor changes as required are also positioned for other bulk handling applications like in waste management, light mining, ports, etc. Special application vehicles like side tipper, 3-way tipper and roll-off tipper are supplied as per customer needs but the volume offtake for the same are low at the current juncture. Roll-off tipper also popularly referred to as Hook Loader or Hooklift, a versatile workhorse popular in industrialised countries has found a good acceptance in the solid waste management sector for both primary and secondary transport while the utility of the same is yet to be realised in the construction segment. LCV and ICV tippers though low in volume offtake are sought for sundry applications like handling sand, blue metal and construction debris within the city limits, thanks to various statutory regulations, cramped layout and dense traffic conditions.
As regards mining applications, unarguably the most arduous for the tippers and tip trailers, many local and international brands are positioning their diverse range for the discerning customers in the field. Mr. G.V. Rao, Vice President – Product Strategy, Brand & Marketing, Volvo Group Truck Sales – Hub India, says: “Mining segment is the toughest in all CV applications especially the overburden application. Overburden is the soil and rock that needs to be removed before coal is reached. Typically the stripping ratio in India varies from 1:10 to 1:4. A stripping ratio of 1:10 means that 10 tonnes of overburden needs to be removed to get one tonne of coal. As a result the tonnage removal of overburden is very high. The overburden application is a round the clock operation. This application is extremely demanding on the trucks as they carry very heavy loads over steep inclines and very rough road conditions. This puts lot of demands on the truck engine, chassis, body and the other mechanics, not to forget the demands on the driver as well. The trucks therefore need to be very tough in terms of build, high performance in terms of engine capacity and performance and comfortable enough for the drivers to operate for 8 hours.”
Man-machine sync for productivity
Driver skills, shortage and steps to alleviate the same have been discussed extensively and actions initiated but the problems continue to persist. There is a big gap between demand and supply and various companies are taking measures to narrow down this gap.
Mr. Rao opines: “The driver plays a very critical role in our customers operations. While the trucks are world-class, the drivers that operate should also be trained enough to extract the best out of the truck. Fuel is the largest cost component of our customers operations. Everything remaining the same, the driver is solely responsible for fuel efficiency. The same truck driver by different drivers will deliver different fuel economy. We have noticed that the fuel efficiency difference between trained and untrained driver is almost 25%. This is a direct hit on the bottom line of our customers. It is not just fuel efficient driving that the drivers are trained on. Safe driving is equally important. Any accident has the potential to put the truck off road thus reducing earning potential”.
Technology route for growth
Innovations taking place at a feverish pace in every sphere of engineering have resulted in radical improvement of the various sub-assemblies and systems of the truck. Apart from the product developments, the manufacturing processes have also advanced in leaps and bounds and the combined effect of both led to a stronger, safer and more efficient truck ready to address the complex challenges on the applications front. Also The exponential growth in the electronics, IT and telematics have led to the revolution in the in the way a truck is being operated, monitored, maintained and corrected for performance parameters improvement.
In the tipper segment too this change has been perceptibly noticed and today customers are aware about AMT, fleet management system, various costs associated with payload carried per trip on a dynamic basis, etc.
Mr. Rajesh Kaul, Business Head, Intermediate, Medium & Heavy Trucks, Tata Motors, indicates: “Telematics, prognostics and remote diagnostics will increasingly play a major role in offering better productivity, TCO and uptime. Tata Motors is ready with its own Telematics solution Tata Fleetman. The OE fitment of Telematics units on the vehicle at the time of production ensures better integration with the vehicle systems-which enhances the reliability as well as the life of the Telematics units. Tata FleetMan also leverages the nationwide reach of Tata Motors dealer network to offer its services in all corners of the country. With Tata FleetMan, owners and operators of Tata vehicles will have an additional tool in their hands for managing their fleet in a productive and profitable way”.
Increasing role of automation on every aspect of control will eventually lead to an autonomous tipper truck but that day is not likely to be seen in the near future. Mr. Mattias Ahlin, Director – Mining, Scania India, remarks: “The largest change that we will see in the coming years is the connected vehicles. All our mining tippers are connected vehicles and hence will facilitate us with unique possibilities to follow the mine operation with real time data and evaluate the operational performance of the mine. This measurement of performance will allow us to improve operation. We can see substantial improvement potential in productivity by focusing on operational factors like loading, cycle time and the road.”
Road ahead
More importantly the point uppermost in the minds of the domain players should be as to how the market is going to pan out in the near future vis-à-vis sales nos. Commenting on the same, Mr. Pradeep GS, Managing Director / VP Sales & Marketing, JOST, points out that their projection is around 80,000 tippers (all tonnages) and tip trailers per annum and which is growing to hit the peak at around 100,000 in a couple of years. He adds that with the government’s focus on improving infrastructure in India, the demand in the construction segment is going to be robust at least for the next 3-4 years.
Mr. Girish Garud, Managing Director of Interpump, expresses a similar opinion and says that the mining sector is opening up and the same will raise further demand of tippers and related equipment. He also mentions that they are expanding their facilities to address this increased demand, by building new facilities on one side and adding new machines on the other.
Summing it up, the tippers and tip trailers journey ahead looks indeed promising. Various domain players who have utilised the demand dip period to cut-out the flab, rework their strategies and add on new product features are upbeat about the business prospects and that’s indeed good news for the overall industry too – the CV demand being one of the key indicators of the vibrancy of the overall economy. Well, tippers and tip trailers, the not so glamorous work horses of the domain have weathered the slump storm and emerged out of the abyss stronger; and it’s just about the right time for this segment players to shift to the overdrive and reap the market rewards which they definitely deserve it to the hilt – there can be no two opinions about the same.