India is amongst the fastest growing destinations for infrastructural development and there are a good number of private infrastructure projects coming up which are putting in good demand for quality machinery as well. Private infrastructure project developers and contractors executing the projects are putting in demand of foundation equipment that is safe to operate. This is one of the major demand trends of foundation equipment from the Indian construction sector, which is asking for large number of machines that are highly productive and safe to operate.

Sanjoy Chakrabarty, MD, Soilmec India shares his views with Sandeep Sharma about his company, upcoming projects, indian steel industry, national mining policy and role of steel in the infrastructure development of our country. Edited Excerpts…

Could you brief us about your company, mission and objectives? How far you have achieved these objectives?

Soilmec India is a well known name in the industry with a reputation of being a full spectrum provider for foundation equipment for the ground engineering industry with a service portfolio that includes an integration of design, manufacture and distribution processes. The company has been supplying wide range of foundation equipment to varied core infrastructure projects like metro, rail, thermal power, steel plants, high-rise building etc. where foundation equipment have been the most critical component. Soilmec is planning to consolidate its market position in the construction sector as the foundation market in India is bracing up for competition. Since its inception, Soilmec has always developed safe, innovative, cutting-edge technologies and provided the construction industry the full spectrum of equipment solutions. With its advanced technologies, company is looking to catalyze the demand and in accordance with this, is planning to introduce newer piling concepts in India pertaining to sheet piling, micro piling, and CFA.

What kind of opportunities do you see in the Indian infrastructure sector?

India is amongst the fastest growing destinations for infrastructural development and there are a good number of private infrastructure projects coming up which are putting in good demand for quality machinery as well. Private infrastructure project developers and contractors executing the projects are putting in demand of foundation equipment that is safe to operate. This is one of the major demand trends of foundation equipment from the Indian construction sector, which is asking for large number of machines that are highly productive and safe to operate. With such a demand the Indian infrastructure sector made another giant leap as Soilmec India introduced its internationally acclaimed CFA (Continuous Flight Auger) technology for the first time in India

What's your take on your company's contribution in terms of new equipment technologies introduced in the Indian market especially in the ground engineering segment?

With such a demand the Indian infrastructure sector made another giant leap as Soilmec India introduced its internationally acclaimed CFA (Continuous Flight Auger) technology for the first time in India. This is a technology that has been used and proven in Europe for long. Patronized amongst a majority of European nations, this innovative, high performance technology is trusted primarily for its stability, minimalistic operating costs and its unique ability to operate with great ease in almost any type of ground. Globally referred to as a dry pile, Continuous Flight Augers (CFA) help increase the functional productivity at work-sites along with added environmental benefits such as an exponential reduction in sound emissions and other pollutants. The technology can perform in every kind of soil irrespective of their characteristics without the use of bentonite. This can help in cutting down on allied machinery required pertaining to tanks and other machinery, not to mention the management cost, thus helping to cut down on overall piling costs. CFA technology can perform with less manpower. This can yield cost productivity to the contractor. Environmentally, the technology is also quite safe. This is as because the soil that has been extracted is not contaminated with bentonite.

What’s your commitment to the buyers at large?

At Soilmec India, all the services including equipment-design and technical training are tailor-made to suit the needs of the client, along with the assurance that only the highest quality of branded material is used in the manufacture all products. The distinguishing factor of Soilmec India’s service orientation is the repair and maintenance services offered for all equipment sold by the company, as well as services such as a direct customer-care number and specialized service representatives dedicated to specific service processes. Therefore, the technology backed up by the technical expertise will make Soilmec equipments the most sought after and preferred technology in the ground pilling industry.

How is the current year so far in terms of units sold and orders booked for future delivery?

We have sold 25 NOS. hydraulic drilling rigs in the 1ST six months and 5 rigs into Bangladesh and 1 NOS rig into Srilanka. We have a backlog of another 10 rigs to be delivered over the next 6 months.

Could you please tell us about your association with any of the prestigious projects in India in the recent past?

We are associated with the following projects:

1. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC)
2. TATA Iron & Steel CO., Kalinganagar
3. Reliance Energy Limited, Krishnapatnam
4. BGR Energy Systems Limited Vellore
5. MONORAIL , Mumbai

What can be the market size for drilling & foundation equipments in India? How far your company is positioned in the overall market for these products?

India as we know has progressed leaps and bounds in the infrastructure sector and a lot of credit goes to the recent and persistent advancements in the piling industry. The piling industry has come on par with its European counterparts with regard to the technology used and has made the most of it to bring the infrastructure industry out of its recent slump. There has been a phenomenal rise in the pilling sector in India and the focus has shifted to machines with better productivity and has become one of the essential parts of the infrastructure industry and a major contributor to the growth of India. The advancements have led to better cost of production, time saving and increased output leading to milestone success for the industrial growth.

Could you provide our reader a glimpse of your future road map pertaining to India?

Soilmec India believes that CFA is the future of foundation engineering technology. The dynamic and physical load tests of the experimental piles done in Rajpura gives strength to our belief; we have great expectation from CFA to become a most acceptable and economically piling method in many part of our country. Soilmec provides with the CM-50, CM-120, CM-700, CM-1200, CM-7000, R-Series and the SR-Series of the CFA Rigs depending on the scope, depth to be drilled and usage of the Rigs. The company has displayed the CFA conversion kit for fitting on a standard SR-40 which is the further development for CFA at the recently concluded BC India summit which attracted a lot of attention due to the eco-friendly technology.

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