Strategic Advantages of Mini Excavators Mark their Dominance in Diverse Applications
According to Mr. Siddharth Chaturvedi, General Manager, Marketing, Tata Hitachi, the mini excavator segment has gained prominence, now ranking as the third largest in the excavator market. Mini excavators, especially the 3-4 Tonne models, are preferred across various industries, from construction to agriculture
What market trends do you anticipate in the mini excavator segment, and what is your perception of the market by 2030?
The demand for mini excavators has steadily increased over the past few years. The mini excavator market has now become the 3rd largest segment within the excavator market, overtaking the 7-tonne segment. Within mini excavators, the 3-4 Tonne segment now holds the dominant share. This is because customers seek a machine with a machine with a higher capacity that can undertake relatively tougher jobs, thus increasing their revenue and profitability, given the varied strata in our country. The 2-tonne segment is increasingly used in niche applications where operating space is the primary constraint. Other segments, like those less than 2 tonnes and greater than 4 tonnes have emerged due to increasing labor costs, labor shortages, and applications demanding time-based completion. With this background, the mini excavator market could emerge as a dominant segment by 2030 and even appear as the 2nd largest group after the 20-tonne segment in excavators.
What key factors are driving the increased adoption of mini excavators, and in what situations are they more advantageous than larger standard machines?
Mini excavators are compact by design, highly maneuverable, and more efficient than manual labor or tractor attachments. They exert less ground pressure, generate less noise, accommodate various attachments, and offer superior operating economics compared to larger standard machines.
Mini Excavators are most suitable when site accessibility and working space do not allow larger machines to work, but higher work output is desired.
Given their attributes and application requirements, mini excavators excel in municipal work, construction sites, and building foundations. They are ideal for demolition, trenching, and small material handling, especially in congested urban and rural areas.
The advantage of these machines is even greater at sites that have human inhabitation within close quarters due to lower noise. The ability of these machines to dig effectively with lower ground pressure and lower fuel consumption makes them excellent candidates for agricultural applications like pond works and plantation jobs where larger equipment cannot work or the working economics are unfavorable.
What pre-sales initiatives are being undertaken to enhance the integration of this equipment with potential users in the construction segment?
The demand for mini excavators was primarily confined to the southern areas for plantation purposes. However, over the past two years, there has been a notable expansion into the construction sector. Currently, around 10 equipment manufacturers are actively promoting mini excavators in India, and their acceptance among rental and infrastructure companies is on the rise.
Tata Hitachi is a pioneer in Mini Excavators. We have been present in this segment for more than two decades and have maintained our market leadership to date. This is a testimony to the value proposition, user-friendly operation, ease of maintenance, and exceptional resale value offered by our machines.
To continuously bring a superior offering to our customers, we have introduced new models over the years. We currently offer 4 models, namely TMX20Neo, ZX23U, NX30, and ZX33U. Additionally, we are set to introduce more models shortly.
Mini excavators are a growing segment. It needs concept selling of product demonstrations, production, and fuel studies in different applications to convince customers about the suitability and viability of these machines over current options like manual labor, tractor-based attachments, and the use of standard large-class machines.
Please highlight the unique features, capacity, and horsepower ranges of the mini excavators you offer.
The hallmark features of all our mini excavators are enhanced digging forces, boom swing, dozer blade, rubber shoes, a variety of attachments, low fuel consumption, and low maintenance costs. Tata Hitachi’s Mini Excavator portfolio encompasses 2-tonne and 3-tonne variants. In the 2-tonne category, we offer the TMX20 Neo and ZX23U models, while in the 3-tonne segment, we offer the NX30 and ZX33U models.
All our models are equipped with cutting-edge Hitachi hydraulic technology and world-class engines from Japan. The engine power across these models ranges from 17.4 HP to 28.4 HP.
Please provide details on the sales proposition you offer with attachments for the mini excavators and if these attachments are tailored or indexed to specific applications?
Mini Excavators work in a variety of applications. We offer a large selection of attachments to suit every application. Our range features various buckets for general use and trenching, rock breakers for demolition, and drum cutters for cutting rock and concrete. Augers are ideal for creating vertical holes for tree planting, electric pole installation, and solar panel setup. Hedge trimmers serve agricultural and general-purpose needs.
Trenchers are used to make trenches for laying water pipelines and electric cables. To complement these attachments, we offer mechanical and hydraulic quick couplers to switch between various attachments seamlessly. We offer NOX tilt rotators, which offer rotation and tilt in addition to the quick coupling of attachments. All our machines are offered with reliable factory-fitted hydraulic piping kits to power these attachments. Because of the versatility of the machines and their attachments, they have found increasing acceptance across applications from private and public entities.