Page 38 - Construction_Opportunities_January_2025

INTERACTION POST BAUMA

ROHIT PUNJABI (RP) NISCHAL MEHROTRA (NM)
Tough World, Tough Equipment

LiuGong India a leading Construction equipment manufacturer offering a wide range of extreme
duty machines for construction and mining industry consistently since 2002. LiuGong machines
adopt proven technologies to thrive in the most rigorous conditions of India making them – highly
productive, efficient, durable, simple to run, easy to service and cost-efficient. In an exclusive interview to
CONSTRUCTION OPPORTUNITIES, NISCHAL MEHROTRA (NM), SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & ROHIT PUNJABI
(RP), VICE PRESIDENT & BUSINESS HEAD – EXCAVATOR, LIUGONG INDIA PVT LTD, speak on their EV range
of machines, Make in India, after market services and a lot more.

Detail us on your green zone at bauma Conexpo India. We see Our management in our current company, they had the vision.
a lot many green products. Our MD had the vision. We all had the vision that this is going
(NM) Yes, definitely we are in line with the vision of Honorable to the future. People said, the price gap is so high that, maybe
Minister for Roads & Highways Nitin Gadkari. Last year in the same people will not accept it. You will not believe today, if you ask me
place, he inaugurated our first loader, 6 Tonne class of EV loader. for machines, EVs, I don’t have. We got the first 3.5 ton loader,
And this time we are displaying 10 different models of the EV. In Today, we are sitting on at least 15 orders and wondering how to
one year, we increased our numbers in 10 fold. give these 15 machines. The best part, everybody wants the first
machine.
How do you see the demand for EV products? So, are you definitely seeing a movement of customers to TCO?
(NM) It’s overwhelming response from our customers. We are (RP) Well, it is just TCO. See, the movement of customers was always
getting a number of repeat orders from the customers. When towards TCO. It is only how they understand the TCO now is better.
hydraulic excavators were introduced in India in 1973-74, The maturity of Indian customers has developed drastically over
everybody thought, what madness is this? How a hydraulic last few years. They don’t look at the equipment only as a capital
excavator will work in our scenario? Because the time was of investment. They look at the equipment, how the equipment
Road troubles. Today, you cannot think of an excavator which should perform four years, five years down the line. And what
is not hydraulic. Last year, same place, same location, we had support the OEM is giving them. People who have understood
one EV loader and the industry was saying, either way, we are EV, go for it. Only challenge is that today we are struggling, or
going to buy this. So expensive. Today, we have the guts of putting the industry is struggling to concept of EV. That is what is more
10 machines, all sold out. And back order of maybe next three important. How fast can the EV concept go into the minds and
months. hearts of people. Today, if you see developed countries, China,
US, it’s all EV. There are some sections of European culture who are
You definitely have the early mover advantage? still talking of hydrogen. We don’t see coming in the future. We see
(NM) Yes. In the market, we have the early mover advantage. EV in the future. Immediate future is EV.

38 CONSTRUCTION OPPORTUNITIES|JANUARY 2025