Optimise your manufacturing process

September 24, 2015 10:46 am

An insight on how innovative technologies are enhancing material handling process
 Despite certain contractions, the material handling industry in India has come of age. Newer and efficient material handling technologies are propelling competitiveness and driving development especially in the sectors like manufacturing, power, infrastructure, and heavy engineering. Increasing investment in the domestic manufacturing sector, propelled by “Make in India” initiative, is expected to drive the growth for industrial material handling solutions market. 
Commenting on the status of industrial material handling solutions market in India Y Srinivas Reddy, Managing Director, Bevcon Wayors Pvt. Ltd. said, “As of now, the industrial situation in India is really unpredictable. Undoubtedly, the current economic situation has larger impact on bulk material handling sector as its growth depends largely on infrastructure development which is really in shambles. Business opportunities have come down competition is fierce, very low  fund  and cash flows high interest rates are crippling the organisations sustainability same is the case in globally.”
Industrial material handling equipment manufacturing major ElectroMech estimates that the industrial cranes market in India is approximately to the tune of Rs. 1,500 crore to Rs. 1,800 crore per annum. This market size has contracted slightly in the past couple of years due to the slowdown in the Indian economy, said Tushar Mehendale, Managing Director of ElectroMech. However, with the government’s emphasis on the revival of manufacturing and allied industries, ElectroMech anticipates that the industry to rebounded to around Rs. 2,000 crore to Rs. 2,200 crore range in next few years.
According to ElectroMech, almost 30 per cent of the demand for industrial cranes comes from the public sector companies and the remaining 70 per cent from the private sector. “The private sector is the most vibrant part of the Indian economy, growing at a sustained high pace and is willing to adopt newer technologies, thus creating scope for innovation in the crane industry,” Mr Mehendale observed. In terms of quantities of the total requirement, Western India contributes around 50-55 per cent, Southern India contributes around 20-25 per cent, Northern India 15-20 per cent, and Eastern India around 5-10 per cent.
Dayanidhi Anand, Country Head, STAHL CraneSystems points out, “Material handling equipment market in India is multi-layered and not yet organised. The main areas that need to be organised is standardisation of buildings and specifications of these equipment.”
Sharing more details on the status of industry, Mr Mehendale said, “0ver 40 per cent of the total market is dominated by a handful of reputed names in the organised sector. The rest of the market is shared by more than 250 small crane companies.”
Adarsh Hegde, GM – Sales and Marketing, Demag – Terex Material Handling and Port Solutions predicts, “We foresee the effects of developmental initiatives such as ‘Make in India’ by the first quarter of 2016. The future demand is expected to be from medium and lower capacities i.e. below 40-tonne category.”
Growth drivers The Indian economy looks to be on the path to recovery. The manufacturers are seeing an increase in the levels of enquiries from different industry sectors. A renewed push is expected in the infrastructure projects and other related areas. According to Mr Mehendale, “Demand is expected to rise as there will be a huge pent-up demand for cranes from various sectors.”
Make-In-India drive of current government is expected to help standard crane business to enter government sector which remains biggest potential user of these equipment. “With increased need of automation and modernisation, the demand for material handling equipment should see a definitive upward trend,” opines Mr Hegde. However, Mr Anand believes, “The main driving factor for standard crane business in current market is going to be safety, reliability and availability of better after sales support.”
Explaining the expected growth in his sector, Mr Reddy said, “Considering the momentum in the infrastructure sectors in particular power, ports, mining and cement, a steady growth rate of 15-20 per cent can be witnessed in the bulk material handling sector for the next five years.”
Indian market is more of custom-built cranes which are designed upon “pre-gen” designs leading the equipment to be bulky, heavier and lesser efficient. “With an upsurge in European players coming to the market and with a major push in foreign investment in country, standard crane business such as of STAHL Cranes  is expected to grow at higher level,” says Mr Anand.
Some products and solutionsTalking on the industrial material handling solutions Terex offers, Mr Hegde said, “We are extremely well placed to cater to complete in-plant material movement requirements for automotive, auto ancillaries and industrial segments such as general engineering, steel, traditional energy, wind energy, paper etc. – from a chain hoist of 80 kgs to an EOT of 400-tonne capacity.” Terex designs, engineers and manufactures span of up to 35-metre and for wider spans.
ElectroMech offers precise material handling solutions for applications in manufacturing plants and infrastructure projects. The company’s product portfolio includes electric wire rope hoists, single girder and double girder EOT cranes, jib cranes, wall travelling cranes, goliath cranes, underslung cranes, as well as special purpose cranes such as stacker cranes and tunnel mucking systems. Its cranes and hoists are supplied to diverse industries including automobile, construction, general engineering, heavy engineering, oil and gas, power, railways, shipbuilding and steel.
STAHL CraneSystems offers electric wire rope hoist, electric chain hoist, manual chain hoist, EOT cranes, jib cranes etc. Its hoists and cranes find applications mainly in automotive industry as well as engineering, glass, chemical, pulp and paper, and warehouses etc. The company also provides specific solution for hazardous area applications such as LNG application or in processes where there are strict space constraints.
Armsel KITO provides state-of-the-art material handling equipment, mainly in the lifting industry with cranes and hoists, as standard, customised and packaged products to suit every end-user needs across multiple industries. Some of its clients are ONGC, JSW, Tata Steel, and Larsen & Toubro. Bevcon Wayors provides a range of bulk material handling systems.
Innovative technologiesIn terms of technology the past few years have seen quite a bit of influence from international markets. As a result, direct drive motors and VFDs have become more common and customers are accepting this technology, moving away from what was the norm for decades. “Also energy efficiency is becoming a standard feature for material handling solutions across industry,” Mr
Mehendale added. ElectroMech continuously innovates to upgrade its existing product range and is working on bringing new solutions to cater to its clients’ requirements.  The company has developed several customised solutions which include high-speed, high-lift tunnel mucking systems, stacker cranes and single failure proof cranes for the nuclear power sector.
Today business  sustainability depends on how technological innovations are taking place within the organisations to meet day-to-day challenges of competitive environment. “Considering the environmental pollution challenges there is a trend in use of more pneumatic conveying systems than the mechanical conveying,” says Mr Reddy.
Demag – Terex Material Handling is equipped to provide with fully automatic process cranes optimised to meet specific requirements of customers. These cranes can communicate with integrated high-level control systems, for instance warehouse management. “All motions, including the load pick-up and deposit sequences are controlled by a computer program, thus require minimal supervision. Human intervention could be limited to an emergency stop,” informed Mr Hegde. These solutions are increasingly being used by automotive, steel and paper industry for effective space utilisation and speedy process cycles. The technology is effectively being used for waste management as well.
With a major change in user’s mindset over safe and reliable equipment, it is rather important for manufactures to look for innovations in standard equipment. STAHL Cranes has experience of over 130 years in developing standard crane equipment and intends to make the equipment maintenance friendly and easy to operate for users. The company’s recent innovations include capability of equipment to be run through programmed devices through a remote station, smart devices inside hoists to monitor and record operational data etc. It is very important that these innovations bring a better experience for users in attracting them towards standard cranes, Mr Anand said.
—————-0ver 40 per cent of the total market is dominated by a handful of reputed names in the organised sector.
Tushar Mehendale, Managing Director of ElectroMech——————————–The main driving factor for standard crane business in current market is going to be safety, reliability and availability of better after sales support.
Adarsh Hegde, GM – Sales & Marketing, Demag – Terex Material Handling & Port Solutions.————————————Considering the environmental pollution challenges there is a trend in use of more pneumatic conveying systems than the mechanical conveying.
Y Srinivas Reddy, Managing Director, ————————————Material handling equipment market in India is multi-layered and not yet organised.
Dayanidhi Anand, Country Head,  STAHL CraneSystemsBevcon Wayors Pvt. Ltd.——————