It is estimated that the coal production will be doubled in the next 5 years. With this development the government is floating large mining contracts with higher contract tenures. Says Pierre JEAN VERGESalamon, President, Asia Oceania Sales, Volvo Trucks India inconversation with EPC World.
Volvo Trucks is the first premium European truck brand to cross the landmark of 10,000 truck deliveries in India. Technologically what are the macro and microscopic parameters that helped you achieve this milestone?
We are grateful to our customers for the trust that they have on the Volvo Brand. This trust has helped us to become the leaders in the segment that we operate in and the first European manufacturer to cross the 10,000 truck deliveries landmark Volvo has also always been the technology leader in the truck segment with focus on core areas of Quality, Safety and Environment care. Volvo has always been on the forefront of innovation and technological excellence.
Over the past 17 years, we have introduced several innovative and industry leading/first value added services such as, 24×7 on call services, call centre services, customized service agreements, on-site support services, fuel & operational advice programmes, and one of its kind innovative driver competition – “Fuel Watch”; to sensitize and motivate drivers, fleet managers & customers to focus on fuel savings and environmental care through efficient driving.
Volvo has stood for innovation – bringing innovative products that deliver value to the customer. Whether it’s the 8×4 concept, the ishift (automated gear box), the 5 axle trucks – each of our innovation has directly delivered value to the customer and therefore we have to able to maintain our leadership position.Volvo has the safest cab in the truck industry. Drivers feel safe in Volvo trucks and therefore prefer to drive a Volvo.
We will continue to bring in world class and innovative products and solutions to help our customers be more profitable and remain customer’s no.1 preferred brand.
The FMX 520 and FMX 480 blurs the boundary between a dump truck and a heavy duty tipper; design wise what led to the creation of this amalgamation?
We understand that there will be an increase in demand for power generation to support the 7%+ GDP growth that India will witness. The demand for coal for power generation will therefore increase quite substantially in the coming years.
In fact the government has estimated that the coal production will double in the next 5 years from the current 550mn tonnes to 1bn tonnes by 2020. Keeping in view with this development the government is floating large mining contracts with higher contract tenures. This puts high demands on the productivity of the mine & more coal needs to be extracted faster.
The size of the mining projects & contracts are getting bigger (at about 105-110 million cubic meters of overburden from a previous level of 50-60 million cubic meters). The duration of the contract has also increased. Based on this trend, the need of the hour is bigger trucks, which offer enhanced features in terms of productivity & efficiency.
This led us to develop unique solutions that would take care of higher productivity with the flexibility and low operation costs of a truck. The FMX 520 and FMX 480 combine the high capacity of the dumper with the manoeuvrability of a truck
Tell us about Volvo’s other products dedicated to the mining sector?
Volvo has many high capacity trucks – the 8×4 manual and ishift with 19.5cu.m body for overburden applications, the FMX 33cu.m coal haulage and FM and FH trucks for other mine applications.
Given the fact that mining has its share of risks and hazards, what are the features incorporated in the Volvo trucks to mitigate such factors?
Mining is an extremely demanding and tough work area with lot of occupational hazards. Volvo recognises this and has therefore developed trucks that can operate under extreme working conditions keeping the drivers and occupants safe.
Volvo has always valued safety of the drivers very high – in fact safety is one of our core values. We are proud to say that Volvo Truck cabin is one of the safest and toughest cabins in the truck industry. The Ishift (Volvo’s automated gear box) for mining is specially designed to handle the extreme conditions of the mine eliminating driver stress thus ensuring safety and well-being of the driver. There are many other features like the electronic parking brake that ensures safety is taken care of at all times.
When it comes to Volvo trucks, what kind of R&D is undertaken to ensure perpetual innovation? Where is your R&D centre located?
Volvo leads innovation and invests heavily in R&D and in technologies for the future – focusing on our core values of quality, safety and environment care.
We have R& D centres in Europe, Americas and Asia including India
What is your take on the future of the Indian Mining Equipment industry?
We are very bullish about the prospects in the mining segment. India produces 88 minerals – 4 fuel-related minerals, 10 metallic minerals, 50 non-metallic minerals and 24 minor minerals.
There are plenty of opportunities. If we consider only coal mining, India has more than 300 billion tonnes of coal reserves. The coal production in 2014 was around 500 million tonnes.
The government has ambitious plans to increase the production to 1 billion tonnes by 2020. So you see, only from coal mining perspective the opportunities are tremendous.
Also in the non-coal mining the opportunities are very promising. For example, while India has 5th largest iron ore reserve, India’s per capita consumption of steel is 4 times lower than the global average.
The opportunities are plentiful. With the government taking positive strides to boost infrastructure, manufacturing in general and mining in particular, we are quite bullish and are planning to use this opportunity to bring in innovative and world class products to our customers that help them be more productive, efficient and ultimately more profitable.
What would be the major expectations of mining industry from the 2016-17 budgets?
This budget we wish for the GST bill to be passed and GST to be implemented at the earliest.
Consistent government policies and actions to revive the manufacturing sector which is reeling under pressure for the last few years. Swift implementation of the reforms and policies small or big is the key for accelerated growth.
Follow