What led to the inception of GMMCO?
Gmmco’s journey began in December 1966 when the GP-CK Birla Group took over Blackwood Hodge Equipment, who were distributors for the Terex range of products. Founded by Visionary Industrialist Padma Bhushan Mr.GP Birla, to participate in the infrastructure building of the nation with world class earthmoving, material handling products and services from Gmmco.
GMMCO has completed 50 years in operation, how has the story been so far?
Over the last 5 decades the organization has spread its wings to serve all the core sectors of infrastructure building such as roads, airports, roads, airports, ports, urban development and other con¬struction activities, granite, cement, iron ore, coal and other quarrying and mining activities, power, oil and gas, marine and renewable energy recently added into the portfolio. Starting with advice and consultancy in choosing the right product, to round-the-clock on-site support, Gmmco’s business solutions include both new and used products, as well as rental options. Gmmco’s USP is in providing world class products backed by best-in-class after sales support. Looking at the last 30 years, the first major milestone was the partnership with Caterpillar in 1986 which was a tie-up with the world number one in construction equipment. This has given a tremendous capability to Gmmco as compared to many others because we rubbed shoulders with many of the outstanding Caterpillar dealerships globally which put Gmmco on par with international standards. We are member of many committees and advisory groups, which enable Gmmco remain globally relevant. From a futuristic point of view, in 2010 we started our allied business beyond Caterpillar. As such, we tied up with reputed manufacturers which make products beyond the massive product range of Caterpillar. This enables Gmmco to meet maximum requirements of the customers. For example, our tie-up with Daimler for on-off highway mining trucks has really stabilised over the past 5-6 years. There are more in the pipeline and we expect to announce the same in due course of time. Another key milestone came in 2013, when we tied up for ultra class underground and surface mining equipment with the erstwhile Bucyrus for which we acquired the marketing business from Caterpillar for India. We consider this was a major milestone as this placed Gmmco in a different league. For instance, we have done two ultra large walking draglines for Reliance. The weight of each dragline is 4,500 tonne; bucket capacity is 60-65 cu m and the boom is 100 ft long. Interestingly, it takes 20-25 months for erection and commissioning such large equipment because all elements/components are huge and have to be welded, machined and assembled at site. We completed it in record time with zero incidents. Moving forward, we are getting into solar technology in a modest way, in this year. Technology is the way forward for any organisation.
Post the election of the new government, the situation in construction and infrastructure was grim, how did it affect your balance sheet, has the new government been able to prep up the industry in the last 21/2 years?
The construction equipment and earthmoving industry — traditionally seen as a strong indicator of economic activity — has seen strong growth in the first half of this calendar year, an indication of optimism in business sentiment and a revival of economic activity. De-growth in the sector started in April 2011 and went on until September 2015. Then October to December 2015 was a period of moderate growth. In the last six months, the industry has clocked a healthy growth rate. However, the construction equipment sector is yet to recover to the highs of 2011, Now that the infrastructure sector — roads and highways — has started growing, the economy needs sectors like railways, real estate, and irrigation to start firing
With the onset of increasing number of international players catering to the construction and infrastructure, what are the changes you envisage when it comes to innovation and technology trends?
In the next few years, technology adaptation will play a major role in our operations. The people who are faster and more efficient at leveraging technology are creating differentiating factor. Caterpillar already has an autonomous mining truck that drives itself. Job sites with connected assets are the kind of high-speed, technology-driven change that’s fundamentally reshaping almost every aspect of heavy equipment operations and maintenance. Drones are being used for productivity and efficiency improvement of job sites. At GMMCO we are working with several digital and technology products. We can remotely monitor the machine performance; inside conditions like engine or transmission. We have got a data centre at Chennai wherein we track all the assets which are connected; round the clock data is transmitted via mobile sim card inside the machine. So technology will be a big game changer in the future. Our people have started using digital platforms and applications across the customer lifecycle – from awareness to sales enablement to apps for machine inspection, online purchase of parts to connected assets and productivity solutions.
In the coming years, what role do you foresee for GMMCO in the growth of Indian Infrastructure?
The key learning from the past will be our guiding force for the future and have to be capitalised on. It is most important to understand the customer needs. Today customers are not interested in buying just a machine. Customers are looking out for a total solution so that they can focus on their core business. That’s the reason we are transitioning to deliver solutions. Today Gmmco is running production contracts for some of the coal miners. They buy the equipment for underground mining but we operate and maintain the equipment. We are paid on the basis of per ton of coal produced. Very shortly, we are getting into micro grids, part of which is solar. We will enter into a power purchase agreement with the customer for a long period, say 20 years and we will get paid on the kWh produced.. Also technology enabled solutions and digital products would be critical in the coming years. Embrace technology or you are at risk of being left behind. GMMCO is using technology at various levels – be it pre purchase or post purchase experience of customers. GMMCO is transforming the process of buying, using, managing and owning heavy equipment.
When it comes to heavy equipment and machinery, experts have cited that the after sales service in itself acts as a self sustaining market, what is your opinion, what are the salient features of the after sales and service facilities that GMMCO offers?
After sales service is undoubtedly a very critical parameter. In today’s world customers do not just look at a product but at a total experience - Right from pre purchase decision journey to post purchase support. Customer delight has become the most critical parameter that drives loyalty. Gmmco team understands this and so our relentless focus on achieving excellence in customer experience has made us the one- stop-shop across the customer lifecycle. GMMCO has a very strong product support network and customized solutions to customers of various segments. Gmmco is one of the few companies which are offering a complete suite of after sales support starting from operator training and customer maintenance personnel training to the need of the life support like total machine rebuild for a second life. Gmmco offers extensive product support offering both during warranty as well as post warranty support. To name a few would be preventive maintenance programs, various condition monitoring tools like Scheduled Oil Sampling, custom track service, technical audits which help customers to ensure not only high availability of the machines but also reduced repair cost and downtime. Gmmco maintains state-of-the-art workshop and repair facilities across the country. Of these, the Nagpur workshop is one of the very few in the Asia-Pacific region to be accredited with the 5-star contamination control certification by Caterpillar.
When it comes to the market share, what is your current market share in the Indian market?
We are leading player in the infrastructure equipment segment and our products cut across industries like construction, mining, cement. We are market leaders in various products which include Motor grader, Wheel loaders and dominant player in mining equipments.
Who are some of your important clients and their important projects which GMMCO has empowered?
GMMCO caters to a vast range of customers from large key accounts to the retail segment. GMMCO associates in business to all the core sectors and has customers from various infrastructure building segment such as roads, airports, , ports, urban development and other con-struction activities, granite, cement, iron ore, coal and other quarrying and mining activities, power, oil and gas, marine.
A year back Coal India had announced its 5 year plan, has it acted as a game changer for GMMCO and the other operators in the industry?
Coal India’s move to almost double its output by 2020 has created a big opportunity for us. Coal India target to touch the 1 billion tonne coal production per annum by 2020 will provide major opportunity for all equipment suppliers.
Considering GMMCO’s offerings and expertise, what is the significance of events like IMME and BC India mean to the company, will any new products be unveiled in these events?
Events such as IMME and BC India are great platforms for us to meet customers and stakeholders in the ecosystem in one place. We have the opportunity to showcase our vast capabilities and helps our customers have a cross product visibility. These platforms are always used to launch new Caterpillar products.
A lot of Indian Infrastructure companies have penetrated the Middle Eastern markets, if there is any allied role of GMMCO in this perspective you can add the same in the responses.
GMMCO operates in India region and as of now do not cater to regions outside the sub-continent. Our deep understanding of the Indian markets helps us deliver a consistent and exceptional service experience through operational excellence and enhanced customer value resulting in GMMCO being the customer’s preferred service provider in the sub-continent.
