Sanjeev Bajaj, Chief Officer at Escorts Kubota Limited

Driving Innovation and Pioneering Solutions in Construction Equipment

What cutting-edge innovations in your product offerings are helping to address the challenges of large-scale infrastructure projects, such as highways, metro rail, tunneling, mining, railways, and mega industrial projects? How do these innovations contribute to faster project delivery and cost-effectiveness? Additionally, how is your company leveraging advancements like AI, IoT, and autonomous systems to enhance operational efficiency, safety, and project timelines?

India is poised to become the third largest economy by 2030 with India share of Global GDP to be 5.1% from current 3.5%. This will be at a CAGR growth of ~9% during this period. This growth will be part of our endeavor of a Viksit Bharat by 2047 and infrastructure growth will be the cornerstone which will bring great opportunity for the CE sector.

This opportunity comes with its own set of challenges and responsibilities. We understand that our products must deliver high duty cycles, deliver productivity and economy, ensure safety for the users and people in vicinity, durability of equipment as well as ensuring a cleaner environment. All these aspects are at the core of our design and manufacturing goals and we are confident that with each new development we are able to deliver superior products on each of these customer requirements.   

Our equipment range can address the changing needs of construction and is evolving constantly.  Load safety is linked with telematics so that it is well monitored at large infrastructure sites. IOT is also helping us to make smarter machines connected to the customers, providing connectivity and productivity. This is the reason we are the preferred partner to our customers in the nation building.

Sustainability is a critical aspect of modern infrastructure. How is your company innovating to reduce energy consumption, minimize emissions, and incorporate green technology in your equipment? Can you discuss any success stories or metrics that showcase your progress in this area?

Sustainability is critical to human life and we are focused on this aspect right from the way equipments are designed for lower fuel consumption per unit of work done. The choice of materials used both by us and our suppliers comply to all the guidelines and good practices. We are actively adopting energy- efficient technologies in our equipment to reduce environmental impact and also enhance operational safety, for example compliance to CEV stage V is an important step towards reducing carbon footprint. Our new products are more fuel efficient compared to outgoing models due to innovative solutions provided in our hydraulic & engine systems which reduce the overall energy demand. Our manufacturing facility is energy and water efficient, generating our own solar power and harvesting water.

In the past few years, you have been focusing on exports. However, global markets are quite competitive. What strategies does your company employ to differentiate its products and services on a global scale? How are you overcoming barriers such as price competitiveness, tariffs, logistics, and local content regulations in key export markets?

Our relentless focus to understand the needs of global customers and our upgraded products with the latest level of emission and safety are increasing the acceptance of our products in the global market. The gap between the products from developed markets and developing markets is gradually reducing and new products are more acceptable due to lower cost base from India. For example our newly designed exports backhoe loader, which has features like, Extending dipper, Rock breaker, Multiple bucket options, AC/HVAC and suitability to extreme subzero climate is making a large difference for our position in global markets.

Our distribution is expanding the share of business is well spread over more than 20 countries now.

Given the rising costs of production and operational challenges, how is your company optimizing manufacturing processes and addressing supply chain issues? Are there specific innovations or partnerships that are helping you reduce costs without compromising on quality or delivery timelines?

Our plant has been rapidly adopting efficient operations through the KPS (Kubota Production System) implementation. This also resulted in improved capacity to handle the future demand and to deliver high level of quality, while minimizing the waste.

Our supply chain has gone through a complete procurement assessment program and supplier quality upgradation for uniformity of processes and delivery. There is a Kaizen Community which is also participated by experts from Kubota Japan, which works on the theme-based projects for cost, productivity, efficiency of operations at our suppliers.

Capacity enhancement for critical suppliers is also undertaken and there are investments being made to meet the levels which are projected for the industry in the time to come.

The MSME sector is crucial to the success of the construction equipment supply chain. How do you envision the upskilling MSMEs to ensure high-quality component production? Are there existing collaborations or government programs you’re involved in to uplift MSME standards?

The MSME sector is very crucial to the construction equipment supply chain. To upskill the MSMEs to take leap in producing high quality components, we are closely working with these industries.

We provide technical assistance to MSMEs through Establishing our standards / Process, Promote the adoption of international quality standards like ISO 9001 and TS 16949. This can help MSMEs establish a reputation for quality and reliability, making them more attractive to OEMs and other buyers. This can help them adopt best practices, improve their production processes, and enhance their product quality.

Recommending them to participate / engage with government agencies, industry associations etc. through various events organized by the ICEMA / CII. These programs are focused on areas such as quality control, lean manufacturing, and the use of advanced technologies.

Also driving the “Make in India”, This flagship initiative aims to promote manufacturing in India and encourage MSMEs to participate in the global supply chain.

What incentives or support mechanisms should be in place to attract multinational component manufacturers and investment in high-quality component manufacturing for the equipment and automotive sectors? How can the government and industry work together to ensure that components are manufactured locally, and that vendors have the technological and financial capabilities to meet international benchmarks?

Government’s continuous focus on CE industry and faster response to industry issues through ICEMA has created an environment where innovative products and solutions are serving the customers. Government’s vision on energy and self-sufficiency and climate change is driving the industry to develop fuel efficient and carbon neutral products.

While there is a need for the manufacturers to invest in these technologies, it is imperative that these efforts are supported through targeted PLI or other incentives to encourage the pace of investment. Adoption of carbon neutral technology will also need external environment support, and this would require initiatives from Govt as well as industry.

How can the industry-government partnership improve to streamline business operations and foster innovation? If you had the opportunity to suggest one or two major policy reforms to the government, what changes would have the most immediate and positive impact on the global competitiveness of the construction equipment industry?

Industry and Govt has been partnering is many ways and there is an evolution of whole industry, we have seen. However, there are challenges we should recognize and address which may become a priority with the scale at which we are advancing in infra development.

One such area to focus on would be bringing uniform standards across different types of equipments used, in terms of emission, safety, registration laws etc and a roadmap for say a decade, which will give directions for manufacturers to plan the capacity and capex requirements.

Infrastructure industry including manufacturers are facing growing challenge on skilled manpower availability and though credible efforts are being done by various Govt & private agencies but to meet the demand on numbers and quality these efforts need to be more coordinated by design and outcome based to meet certain standards.

How does your participation at Bauma India 2024 reflect the theme of ‘Innovation for Nation Building,’ and what specific innovations are you showcasing that align with this theme?

Our participation in Bauma Conexpo India 2024 aligns with the theme ‘Innovation for Nation Building’ where safety, productivity and efficiency remain our top priorities. We are introducing innovations focused on energy efficiency, operator safety, automation and real time monitoring. These advancements reflect our commitment to supporting India’s infrastructure growth safety and sustainably.

All our new products are CEV V compliant and CEV II Safety legislated with various innovative features to serve the diverse needs of the customers, be it captive usage or rental applications. Our product range represents 55% of CE industry by volume and we are focused on our role in leading the technologies and solutions for our customers always.