Industrial engine manufacturers in India are on a high, with demand for their products shooting up. Recently, the Central government has decided to increase the Centre’s allotment for infrastructure spending to around Rs 1 lakh crore. Incidentally, the proposal has provided a considerable push to the ongoing infrastructure projects across the country, which faced major roadblocks over the past 9-10 months due to the global liquidity crisis. Several such projects that were proposed almost 2-3 years back have received impetus with the recent proposal.
 Rise in demand from infrastructure sector
Industrial engine manufacturing units in the country are particularly happy about the Centre’s announcement. According to PA Ramachandran, Proprietor of Bharath Pressings, a mid-sized manufacturer of pressed components in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, “Infrastructure companies in the country are the primary customers of industrial engine products. It was anticipated in advance by the industrial engine manufacturers that if the government provides a significant financial boost to the infrastructure sector, the positive benefits of it would also trickle down to their segment.”
According to Simpson, one of the leading suppliers of engines for forklifts, trucks, mobile cranes and other construction equipments, while keeping pace with the heightened demand, the production of these engines and equipments have already touched the record levels of 2007-08.
Balancing demand-supply ratio
However, leading as well as mid-sized industrial engine manufacturing firms are optimistic at present that in any case the demand for such products would not supersede the present supply figure. Mr Ramachandran further adds, “The SMEs are key players in this segment. At present, around 45-60% of such companies are involved in manufacturing of engine products.”
“Most of these mobile cranes and other construction equipment companies have revved up their production shift to meet the escalating demand for their products”, says, Prafulla Kapade, MD of Shubham Engineers, a mid-sized industrial trolley and conveyer manufacturer in Pune.
Apart from the Centre’s financial assistance, the construction firms have also been offered easy access to credit from the Indian banks, which has also helped in increasing the demand for construction equipments and industrial engines in the country.
Anirban Guha |
