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In Conversation...







                                    Mr. Jitender Aggarwal

                                    Director –AEIPL
                                    shares his experience and thoughts
                                    on future of this sector




           Aggcon Equipments International (P) Ltd


           is the leading supplier of construction equipments on rental/hire basis based in
           Faridabad Haryana since 2003. The organization has  successfully provided services
           to many government, semi government, multinational and private organizations in
           and around India.


                            What will be the main demand drivers in the equipment sector?
                            The main demand drivers will be new projects pertaining to widening of roads, construction of new flyovers and
                            underpasses .And, of course, Metro rail,  Airports, Power Projects construction and mining equipment.
                            Around 90 per cent of equipment sales are routed through funding from financial
                            institutions. How has the recent hardening of interest rates affected the equipment market?
                            Yes, that is true.
                            However, it has a direct correlation with available projects in the market. Once we have more projects cleared on the
                            table it will automatically help in easing out the financial crunch as well.
                            Most customers insist on renting newer machines even if older machines are in good
                            condition and still efficient.
                            Most of the clients demand newer equipments on rent basis and the situation has not improved vis-à-vis older
                            equipments. Thus, there is pressure on rental companies. Older equipments and machines, even if they comply with
                            all safety standards, are preferred by only a few for deployment, that too at a lower price.
                            What are the areas that AEIPL will be focussed on?
                            The products are purchased from renowned manufacturers and our services are appreciated for timely delivery,
             We expect      cost effectiveness and reliability. We expect robust demand in this segment over the next few years, considering the
             robust         latent untapped potential of lease-rentals in the Indian market. The new GST regime will have a liberating effect on
             demand in      this segment and will unleash this latent rentals’ demand in India. We see great opportunities with lot of projects
             this segment   in Power, Refinery, Petrochemicals, Fertilizers, Metals , Minerals , Railways, Airports & Roads getting kick-started in
             over the next   the coming year. Our focus would be to ensure participation in each of these sectors. Though our immediate focus
             few years,     is to deploy our existing fleet on long term basis wherever we get opportunities, we are not averse for need based
             considering    or project based expansion.
             the latent     What is the size of the equipment rental market in India? As a company, what is your own
             untapped       assessment?
             potential of   No definite statistics is available and it is difficult to arrive at the exact size. Besides, the views are hugely diverse. It
             lease-rentals   could be about Rs.3000 crore rental per annum. This is a very rough estimate and includes fleet owned by project   33
             in the Indian   owners, EPC companies & mechanical contractors.
             market.        How much of the equipment rental segment is with the larger players vis-à-vis the medium
             The new        and smaller players?
             GST regime
             will have a    Larger  players  definitely  have  an  edge  over  medium  and  small  equipment  owners  since  the  higher  capacity
             liberating     equipments owned by mostly large players earn 10-15 per cent more rental charges from the end-users.
             effect on      With the huge shortage of skilled manpower nationwide, how do equipment rental          | Global MDA Journal | NOV-DEC 2017
             this segment   companies handle the situation?
             and will       A large number of equipment  have been imported; both new machines and used second hand machines, whereas
             unleash this   operators, technicians and engineers for maintenance of these equipments are in short supply in India. Equipment
             latent rentals’   rental companies, in small and medium sector, outsource the services of operators, technicians and engineers at
             demand in      a higher cost. Those equipment rental companies which have their own in-house maintenance facility are able to
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                            sustain maintenance cost and train skilled manpower.
             India.
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