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The first SOM tender was for
four new reach stackers for
Concor’s Tughlakabad terminal in
New Delhi.This was followed by
another covering three existing
machines; a 1994 Indital EC reach
stacker and two Belotti units.
Indital won both contracts and
since 2002 has been operating and
maintaining the seven machines
through a sister company, Contstar
Material Handling Services Pvt
Ltd.The contract includes providing
the operators, assistants, service
technicians, diesel, oil lubricants,
other consumables such as
filters, tyres and all the spare parts.
Kumar says this type of contract
has numerous advantages for
the terminal operator. Machines
are properly maintained with service
at correct intervals using genuine
spare parts, greatly increasing
service life. Machine availability
is mutually agreed upfront when
the contract is negotiated and the
supplier is responsible for all the
necessary back up.
Concor now has three years
experience with this type of contract
and, says Kumar, it has been
a success. Other customers, however,
still want a maintenance only
contract that excludes fuel and oil.
24
Fantuzzi 8-high ECH mast trucks handling 2 over 7 in Shanghai.The company
started assembling heavy mobile plant in China several years ago
Indital has recently delivered two
reach stackers to Jawaharlal Nehru
Port Trust and has won an order
from the Kolkata Port Trust for
two machines on these terms.
SOM you win
Concor’s Mr. Pankaj says the company
has been pleased with the
SOM arrangement and adds that
Concor sees this type of agreement
as a way to get round the
problem of not having the necessary
skill set among its workforce
to operate and maintain a large
fleet of reachstackers. Pankaj says
Concor is not alone in this thinking
and that Gateway Terminals in
Mumbai has recently entered into
a similar agreement with Kalmar
for the 29 RTGs it is supplying.
Concor has, however, been disappointed
with the response to its
call for expressions of interest, with
only “about 10” responses including:
Kalmar, PPM, Indital, Linde,
ABG India, Fantuzzi, SMV
Konecranes and Dalian Forklift.
FOR PRECISE & SAFE CONTAINER HANDLING
All the companies that expressed
interest have an arrangement
with an Indian company but
Pankaj stresses this is not required
at this stage and companies should
still express interest, even if they
form a tie up with a local partner
to provide the operators at a later
date. He adds that this order for
25 machines is just the first in a
series and is only sufficient for 11
of Concor’s 56 terminals. It will
likely be followed by another for
25-30 more machines and further
subsequent orders.
Poses a challenge
Concor’s requirement for drivers
is a challenge for European manufacturers.
Liebherr says it decided
against trying to put together the
package. As previously reported
Kalmar has acquired 51% of
Indlift, its Indian agent, but product
manager for reachstackers Per
Rosengren did not want to comment
on how this might affect the
way Kalmar would meet the
driver requirement. He did say that
Kalmar has met a similar requirement
in other markets previously.
In the current environment
where demand is very high and
delivery times have become a
10-B Peenya Industrial Area, II Phase, Bangalore - 560 058, INDIA
Tel. +91-80-39225641. Fax: +91-80-8395702. E-mail: info@indital.net www.indital.net
problem some manufacturers may
have decided that Concor’s conditions
are too much of a risk.
Linde’s marketing manager
Mark Timothy, however, says it is
normal for a local agent to support
all roles associated with the
business and “therefore this would
take away the direct responsibility
[for service and operators] to the
equipment manufacturer.”
But if the existing agent is not
able to supply drivers this creates
a further problem as the manufacturer
then has to decide
whether to try and look for another
arrangement.
SMV Konecranes’ Andersson
adds that the Indian market is very
large and each contract is very individual,
so it is difficult to judge
whether Concor’s move indicates
a trend. However, the company is
not looking to change the nature
of its Indian agency in any way.
What is more likely to be
putting some companies off, however,
is the tariff on imported machines,
believed to be in the region
of 35%.Tariffs normally apply
to spare parts as well so over a
5-year SOM deal the ongoing cost
would be considerable. The size
of the order, however, is such that
European suppliers would have to
wonder whether it can be met
from inside India and, therefore,
they have a better chance than
with a smaller order.
Kumar says meeting the requirement
would be “no problem”
for Indital as its current reach
stacker capacity is 36 units/year.
A new 1800 m2 assembly hangar
is under construction and this will
lift reach stacker production to 48
units per year and also increase
ECH production capacity.
Service, please
For equipment manufacturers
having a strong position in the
service section of the market is
becoming more important both
as a source of revenue and as a way
to get closer to the customer and
boost success in the replacement
market. In a recent presentation
to Capital Market Groups in New
York Kalmar’s Granskog said that
the market for mobile equipment
such as reach stackers and FLTs is
driven more by replacement and
service than new units.
Kalmar is looking to extend its
share of the service market and it
is an area where it is looking to
grow by acquisition. Recent purchases
include, as previously reported,
a majority stake in Indlift
and 100% of US crane maintenance
and engineering service
company East Coast Cranes.
Other manufacturers are of
course also looking harder at the
service and leasing sector, including
SMV Konecranes that recently
set up SMV Rentals Ltd for the
UK market.
Leasing is also becoming more
popular in Australasia where
Omega has a rental fleet of 30
heavy FLTs in Australia and New
Zealand and between 60 and 70
machines on fully maintained operating
leases.
Omega’s managing director
Alan Foulkes says the transition to
CARGO HANDLING
One of 11 Kalmar DCE330 33t ro-ro FLTs ordered byWallenius Willhelmsen,
seen loading in Bremerhaven.The machines have Tier 2 engines and catalytic
exhaust purification systems to reduce emission levels.They are also equipped
with an automatic safety feature that shuts the machine off if they are overloaded
maintenance leases makes sense
and Omega has moved to adapt it
as required. It has had one inquiry
about providing an operator but
not entered into any such contracts
at this stage.
More common, considers
Foulkes, will be systems that
monitor the machine condition
and how it has been treated by the
driver including driver access control,
shock monitoring and engine
condition. Omega has fitted this
technology itself and, in the case
of P&O Ports, worked with its
telemetry and vehicle monitoring
subsidiary Sattel.
Demand down under
The last two years have both been
record periods for Omega as demand
in Australasia and the Pacific
Islands has been strong.
Omega remains interested in the
wider Asian market where it has
several machines, but “local” demand
has been such that the company
has not had to look for new
markets for two years.
Its business is split roughly
70:30 between the container handling
and industrial sectors and its
FLTs dominate Australian and NZ
markets for container handlers.
P&O Ports, now DP World, is a
particularly good customer and
recently took delivery of 10 new
machines, bringing its fleet to over
100, of which 30 are the most recent
D and E series designs.
In the Pacific market, a nickel
mine in New Caledonia has purchased
two 50t FLTs that will be
used for containers and other
items. In Fiji, the Port of Suva purchased
a 35t ro-ro truck and is
likely to purchase additional container
handlers when it takes delivery
of three Gottwald HMK
300E harbour mobile cranes - two
for Suva one for Lautoka - later
this year.
While other Australian manufactures
in the mining and steel
fabrication business are struggling
with the fast rising costs of raw
materials Foulkes says things are
nowhere near as bad as sometimes
made out. The “hysteria” generated
over steel prices last year
turned out to be misplaced and
actual price increases have been
more modest than predicted.
The only difficulty at present
is tyre supply but Foulkes says this
has brought an unexpected upside.
Miners facing a severe problem
with large earth mover tyres have
begun to treat them as an asset and
manage them better. Omega has
seen an increase in sales and enquiries
for FLTs fitted with tyrehandling
attachments.
Dana Chapter 11
By and large, big truck manufacturers
are not too concerned about
the recent move by Dana Corporation
and 40 of its subsidiaries to
file for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy
reorganisation order. Kalmar is
monitoring its deliveries very
closely, but so far sees no problems
with supply and Linde reports
a similar situation.
Omega represents Dana for
several product lines and fits its
axles to FLTs. Foulkes says “it’s
April 2006