Page 52 - Construction_Opportunities_Sep_2026

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duration so that the customer gets the right equipment rather than pipeline and the direction in which the market is moving, we plan to
simply what is available. grow our fleet by approximately 15–20% year-on-year, with greater
Once deployed, our focus is on quick response, preventive emphasis on heavy-tonnage and specialised lifting equipment.
maintenance and minimising downtime. We are also increasingly We are not looking at expansion purely in terms of the number of
looking at long-term relationships rather than individual rental cranes; the objective is to build a balanced fleet that can cater to
orders. If a customer is executing multiple projects, we want FEHM increasingly complex lifting requirements.
to become the first call whenever there is a lifting requirement.
What sort of government policies or measures will foster growth for
What are the emerging trends in crane rentals? To what extent is the infrastructure industry at large and thereby propel the growth
consumer behaviour influenced by cost? What is your strategy in of the crane industry?
this price-sensitive market? The biggest support for our industry is continuity in infrastructure
India is definitely a price-sensitive market, and rental rates will always spending and, more importantly, timely execution of those projects.
matter. But with larger and more time-bound projects, customers Roads, metros, railways, ports, renewable energy, industrial projects
are increasingly looking beyond the lowest rate. Reliability, machine and urban infrastructure all directly create demand for lifting
age, safety, operator quality and response time have become equipment.
equally important. A crane that is slightly cheaper but remains down From a rental company’s perspective, faster project awards and
for two days can ultimately cost the project much more than the clearances, easier movement of heavy equipment between states
saving in rental. Our strategy, therefore, is not to be the cheapest and greater emphasis on mechanised and safe construction
player in the market. We want to provide the customer with the practices would help the industry significantly. Access to
right machine, dependable uptime and professional support at a competitive financing is also important because modern cranes
competitive price. require substantial capital investment.

Detail us about the steps initiated to upgrade the skill sets of What is your future outlook for the industry and from a company
technicians and operators. perspective?
We regularly encourage OEM-led training for our operators and I am quite positive about the next few years. India is building
technical teams, particularly when new machines or technologies infrastructure at a scale where mechanisation is no longer optional,
are introduced into the fleet. and contractors are increasingly comfortable renting specialised
At the same time, a lot of learning happens through experience equipment rather than owning every asset themselves.
on different project sites. We have several experienced operators For FEHM, crane rental is a business we intend to scale aggressively
and technicians within the organisation, and we encourage that but responsibly. Being a second-generation business, we already
knowledge to be passed on to the younger team members. As have a strong foundation, but my objective is to bring in a more
machines become more sophisticated, continuous training is going modern approach towards fleet selection, technology, systems and
to become even more important. customer service.
We plan to continue adding newer and higher-capacity
Tell us about the new products you have launched or plan to equipment, enter more specialised lifting applications and expand
launch in the near future. geographically. The long-term objective is very clear – to build
We have recently added a 32-tonne tower crane along with FEHM into one of the most dependable and recognised names in
multiple higher-tonnage cranes to our fleet. Looking at the project India’s crane rental and heavy-equipment space.

52 CONSTRUCTION OPPORTUNITIES|SEPTEMBER 2026