B2B PURCHASE - JANUARY 2020 B2B January 2020 | Page 10

RCMME
Cover Story
The 3-4 months of slowdown in
the business should not make one
question the fundamental background
in which the country is operating at
this current point of time.
VG Sakthikumar, Managing Director,
Schwing Stetter India Pvt Ltd
A hybrid model needs to be in place
which includes a commitment from
the government body, the private
player and the banks. The idea is to
create a win-win situation where no
one loses.
Debasis Bhattacharya, Head – Marketing, Sales
& Product Support, Ajax Engineering Pvt Ltd
India, at its worst, is still one of the
fastest growing economies in the
world. It’s going to have its hiccups.
Every market that grows is going to
have its ups and downs.
Piero Guizzetti, CEO, MB Crusher India
With the new emission norms in
place, big contractors and government
companies are no longer using any
equipment which is more than
7-10 years old. This has created an
opportunity for players like us.
Anil Bhatia, VP Sales and Marketing
TIL Ltd
under the BOT scheme, land acquisition which is a
critical part of the project had to be managed by the
respective builder or the infrastructure company. Land
acquisition is a contentious issue and it is something
that the government has to negotiate. Owing to this a
lot of projects did not get a financial closure. The present
government gave NHAI the power to acquire land
whereas the contractor is required to participate in his
capacities as an EPC contractor. In this model pumping
in money remains a challenge even for the NHAI. So
a hybrid model needs to be in place which includes a
commitment from the government body, the private
player and the banks. The idea is to create a win-win
situation where no one loses.”
Demonetisation and GST have been consistently
rallied as an abettor to the slowdown but that’s
quite far from the truth. NBFC’s, bad loans and NPA’s
are equally to blame. The debt crisis in IL&FS in fact
adversely impacted growth of the NBFC sector in India.
These issues unlike instant noodles take a lot of years to
snowball and cause an avalanche. So the avalanche was
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B2B Purchase
January 2020
incompetence and corruption at work, something that
the existing government can do without.
Though most of the construction equipment
manufacturers are in a cautious mode, in the crane
segment, there is a reason to smile about.“The mobile
cranes industry works in a slightly different manner
from other equipment segments,” says Anil Bhatia,
VP Sales and Marketing TIL Ltd, “Going by the market
dynamics, 4-5 years back, it was 75-80 per cent for
used equipment and 25-20 per cent for brand new.
With the new emission norms in place, big contractors
and government companies are no longer using any
equipment which is more than 7-10 years old. This has
created an opportunity for players like us. Going forward,
this ratio is going to improve further towards more new
equipment. Our order book is healthy and we actually
have to expand our production facilities to keep up with
the demand.”This success story also owes an allegiance
to the strong financials of the clientele, many of whom
were not affected the NBFC debacle.
Many economist who have hinted at a global
recession believe much of it is owed to the consumption
pattern in individual nations and this is where India
scores some brownie points. Piero Guizzetti, CEO, MB
Crusher India points out “India, at its worst, is still one
of the fastest growing economies in the world. It’s going
to have its hiccups. Every market that grows is going
to have its ups and downs. But the long term story of
India’s absolutely intact. India compared to other major
global emerging economies is a market that is growing
because of the domestic consumption instead of private
consumption.”
Akin to an individual carving a niche for himself, the
construction and construction equipment sector will
have some self-doubts when the task becomes daunting.
The play of power and polity on its part creates a lack of
clarity and augments the issue further. Ratan Tata once
said “Ups and downs in life are very important to keep
us going, because a straight line even in an ECG means
we are not alive.” The stakeholders of the construction
and construction equipment sector need to realize that
the existing flux in the economy will come to a close.
In the meantime the government on it part, both the
ruling parties and the opposition needs to ensure that
the individual in the ICU doesn’t pass out. 
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