We have been the biggest manufacturer in our sector

For over 60 years, Hess Machinery is among the frontrunners in the concrete products manufacturing technology. It has famously provided the industry with the apt slogan: "We put concrete to shape." MANOJ KUMAR PILLAI, MANAGING DIRECTOR, HESS CONCRETE MACHINERY INDIA PVT. LTD. responds to Construction Opportunities, the construction equipment magazine’s queries, about his organisation’s plans for the country.

Construction Opportunities, the construction equipment magazine finds out Hess’ contribution to the concrete solutions sector: We’re a German company and among the biggest machinery manufacturer for the concrete industry, especially for concrete light weight blocks, paver stones, autoclaved aerated blocks and precast elements. We have our presence in – apart from our three production facilities in Germany –Russia, the Netherlands, France, China, Canada, Brazil and Mexico. We began our operations in India in 2010 and only last year, we have expanded our Bengaluru production unit.

More about the Bengaluru plant:  We do all the conveyor systems and the handling equipment of the concrete division. We recently started two models of machines for block manufacturing. With Rs 5 crore investments, one is able to do 10,000 blocks per shift. This, a completely computerized plant requires around 10 people. We are now planning to export the machine out of India which will be our sourcing hub in the future. 

An assessment of the Indian market:  As per the study we have done there are about 20 plants in India but the market potential is for 2000 plants of different capacities in the mid and high segment. We don’t cater to the smaller segment. There are about 30 states in the country. Every capital city of each state can be regarded as ‘A’ grade category wise; each state would have a minimum of 5 ‘B’ grade cities and at least 10 ‘C’ grade cites. One ‘A’ grade city can easily accommodate 10 plants with an investment of around Rs 20 crore each; a B grade city can take a minimum of 5 plants of the same investment size, and a C grade city can easily take at least one plant. Based on that calculation we have been able to assess that the country could accommodate 2000 plants. 

Construction Opportunities, the constructionequipment magazine finds out about their main clients and projects they have supported:  Our major clients comprise of some major cement manufacturers, contracting companies and individuals.  Our clients include Ultratech in Mumbai in Hyderabad, JK Laxmi Cement in Delhi, UAL Industries in Kolkata, the Naveen Jindal Group and many others. We are now in talks with the Tatas and Reliance. We are also in the power segment offering support to thermal based power plants. Wherever there is coal generation we are able to offer solutions for disposal of ash.

Performance in 2013-14: In terms of our global turnover we did €350 million last year. We are quite capable of increasing our capacities in India. We have production facilities in 16 locations worldwide. We have been the biggest manufacturer in our sector since 2007. 
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construction opportunities

There’s a big business opportunity with tenders worth Rs 12,000-13,000 crore being floated in 2014

ASHWINI BHIDE, ADDITIONAL COMMISSIONER, MUMBAI METROPOLITAN REGION DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, has taken brickbats and bouquets in her daily stride. At her office in Bandra, a newspaper cut out of a bridge project pasted to a side wall screams ‘How China builds these…And India never does’.  In a sense, it serves as a constant reminder that if there are multiple hurdles in the effective implementation of projects, then there is also an urgent need to find solutions to overcome them. In an interview with CONSTRUCTION OPPORTUNITIES, the construction magazine, the IAS officer highlights on the challenges at the workplace and the prospects of important projects achieving completion in 2014.


Construction Opportunities, the construction magazine finds out about her role as Additional Commissioner of MMRDA:
My responsibility covers various key projects including those related to road improvement to specialised projects like elevated road connectivity, airport connectivity, bridges over rail and a series of flyovers across the city.  In addition, I am also in charge of monorail connectivity in Mumbai. Beside infra projects I am also in charge of some social projects like Nirmal-MMR sanitation campaign which is intended to remove the backlog of public toilets. I am also in charge of building a series of sky walks across the city.  Moreover, some other facilities such as solid waste management and bulk water supply are also being taken care of by me. In addition, Mumbai Trans Harbor Link (MTHL) and BKC entry point improvement project is also under my charge.

Your thoughts on comparison of Mumbai to other cities over how quickly projects are implemented there: I really do not want to compare Mumbai’s development with the development of other cities. Five years back most of the projects were tendered but several of them remain stuck due to various reasons. It takes a lot of time to get these issues resolved. Yes, I do understand Mumbai’s pace of infrastructure projects is slow but that is because of back log. But without comparing with other cities the kind of projects we handle may not currently have visibility, but projects like Freeway, Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) and Sahar Elevated Road will really help curb the city’s traffic problem. People should also understand that here challenges are more mainly because of the huge population density and structural constraints like environment and forest clearance issues, land acquisition etc. Unlike other cities, Mumbai does not have a single land available for infra projects.

Construction Opportunities, the construction magazine found out if Mumbai will ever be the next Shanghai:
Yes, we have a dream to make Mumbai become like Shanghai. But, the question is: are we going to adopt their political system? Here we have so many stakeholders in a project. We need to have various clearances before entering any project. As a democratic country we have to pay heed to everybody's voice and need. For instance, there are number of claims in the Eastern Freeway project for which we had to create rehabilitation. There were almost 40 different agencies and 5,000 people we have had to settle down in the project. Besides, we also have to obtain BPCL and HPCL permissions because their refinery lies in between the project. Initially it was a huge task, but eventually we sorted it out.
I also must say for any infrastructure project the government should understand the need and urgency and take respective action. I have not seen any other state going ahead with such difficulties.

The total size of the projects from MMRDA and the subsequent business opportunity:
The entire project cost which includes ongoing and those in the pipeline would be around Rs 30,000-40,000 crore. Out
of those in the year 2014 alone we will float tenders for projects to the tune of Rs 12,000-13,000 crore.