Putzmeister – the German concrete pump maker – whose equipment were used to pour water in the Fukushima nuclear reactor in Japan, hopes to double its sales in India. This will be driven by the growth in infrastructure and real estate sectors.

“In 2011, we expect to touch sales revenue of Rs 300 crore against Rs 150 crore in 2010,” said Putzmeister Managing Director, Mr. Michael Schmid – Lindenmayer. The company sells stationary trailer pumps and truck-mounted boom pumps in India.

“Merely 10 per cent of the infrastructure development activities in India have so far been automated which involves substantial amount of time, cost and hazards. So there are huge growth opportunities in the country,” he said.

India sales account for five per cent of worldwide sales of the company. It has set up a factory in Goa.

APPLICATIONS

The company's machines are used in infrastructure development projects in the country such as construction of oil refineries in Gujarat, airports construction at Delhi and Bangalore, hydro electric power plants and DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation).

Infrastructure and real estate developers in North, South and Western India appear to be adopting automated techniques faster. “Our sales in North, South and Western India are relatively more when compared to Eastern India,” Mr Lindemayer told Business Line .

LOCALISATION

To cater to the local market conditions in India, the company made more robust equipment.

“Unlike the European market, preventive maintenance as a concept does not exist here. So, we used special material to produce more robust product. We also had to specially design equipment keeping in mind the weight limits of trucks, and weak chassis frames,” Mr Lindemayer said.

> mamuni@thehindu.co.in

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW