Tata Hitachi targets exports to boost sales, beat slowdown

The company has seen de-growth of 18 to 20% in the first half of this year

Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Company, a  manufacturer of excavator machinery is now eyeing export markets to beat the slowdown in the domestic market. The company has recently rolled out its new ZAXIS 220 LC - GI Series hydraulic excavator in Pune.

It will be manufactured at Kharagpur in West Bengal. This is a 40:60 joint venture company between Tata Motors and Hitachi Construction Machinery Japan, has three plants at Dharwad, Kharagpur and Jamshedpur and offers a full range of constructive solutions which include hydraulic excavators, backhoe loaders, wheel loaders, soil compactors, Motor graders, transit mixers and dumpers.

“With the launch of Tata Hitachi Zaxis GI series, the Indian construction market will take a quantum leap into a new dimension of excavation work in infrastructure applications. For the last three years, our operating capacity at our three plants has gone down to 50 per cent on account of economic slowdown. The construction equipment industry has been on a downward trend for last few years, the new government in place, construction projects, talk of FDI in construction and increased coal output,  construction industry is seeing a ray of hope,” said Ranaveer Sinha, managing director, Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Company.

Speaking on exports, Sinha added, “Now, we are now targeting export markets likeMiddle East market and some African countries. We started our export drive a year back with exports to countries like Nigeria , Uganda, Senegal and Middle East. The company will roll out new machines for material handling at ports and for mining areas, the prototype of which is ready and will hit the market in the next three years.”

The company has seen de-growth of 18 to 20 per cent in the first half of this year. It has clocked a turnover of 2400 crore in the last fiscal year. The excavator market was at its peak in 2007 with 14000 units but now the demand has gone down to 8,000 -9,000 units.

Tata Hitach manufactures more than 30 models of a range of machines from 2T upto to 800T capacity catering to mining, construction, quarrying and other infrastructure applications which includes latest hydraulic excavators, backhoe loaders, wheel loaders, soil compactors, motor graders, transit mixers and dumpers.

With the 37 per cent market share in excavators in the Indian market, Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Company competes with rivals such as JCB, Hyundai, Komatsu, Kobelco and Sany for the 10,000 units of excavators sold annually in the country.