Which are the products/machines you offer for the batching plant segment?
We offer batching plants from capacities of 18-240 cu m per hour and so we have solutions for all kinds of requirements from those of tier 3 contractors to that required by mega-projects. Our batching plants also come in various configurations including mobile plants (mounted on trailers for extreme mobility), foundationless plants for projects that require large concrete productions but without laying extensive foundations, vertical plants (the whole unit is in one integrated structure wherever space is an issue), and large structures wherever gigantic volumes of concrete are necessary.

Have you launched any new batching plant recently? What is the USP of the new product?
Recently we broke new ground in India by launching a 69 cu m/hour plant with a twin shaft mixer. The prime advantages of this product are the reliability of our in-house Stetter mixer design that produces large volumes of concrete and the fact that the plant is of a foundationless design.

What is the estimated market size of ‘Concrete Batching Plant’ industry in India?
At present it is more than 1,000 units spread across all sizes and it is growing at a healthy 20-25 per cent annually.

What is the growth potential of ‘Concrete Batching Plant’ industry? Which are the sectors/industries going to drive the demand for ‘Concrete Batching Plant’ in India?
Cement consumption for RMC in India is little over 7 per cent at present while in developed countries it is around 70 per cent. This industry is also witnessing 25 per cent growth per annum. This coupled with the pre-cast industry in India which is also at a nascent stage ensures a bright future for this industry.

The main factors that are driving this growth are the infrastructure, residential and various industrial projects in the country. All these projects are world-class in terms of quality and so promoters and contractors require concrete of a very high-quality and so they prefer batch-mixed to site-mixed concrete.

Which types of products/concrete machines (batching plant) getting popular in India and why? Is there any new trend/innovation in the industry?
Batching plants of all types are becoming popular. The type selected depends on the requirement of the individual contractor/project requirement. Generally in major cities, foundationless plants of about 60 cu/m concrete production capacity per hour are popular while in Tier II & III cities plants till 30 cu m are popular. As far as large projects are concerned, plants with 200 cu-m/hr concrete production and above are becoming common.

What are the advantages of using batching plant? Are they environment friendly?
The main advantages of using batching plants include:
• A high quality and uniform strength concrete output.
• Saving in labour cost.
• Vast reductions in wastage and can avoid material pilferage.
• Huge increase in concrete production.
The main polluting factor in concreting is actually in cement production so batching plants really aren’t the polluters. However to minimise the power consumption and to prevent concrete dust from spreading in the surrounding, Schwing Stetter ensures that all our plants give the best in-class electric consumption and we give various concrete dust shielding and noise abatement options to the customer.

What are the challenges the industry is facing today?
The increasing popularity of batching plants has created a set of challenges for the industry, mainly the shortage of skilled and trained operators and land availability. Another challenge is customising and adapting the plants to suit Indian climate and concrete conditions for which we at SSI are innovating daily and actively communicating with customers to ensure that they get the most out of their plant.

About SCHWING S17 – Truck Mounted Concrete Pump

In the series of truck mounted concrete pumps SCHWING S17 placing boom mounted on two axle truck provides flexibility as a line pump and manoeuvrability as a boom pump and is ideal for inner city pumping. It can be used as a versatile line pump by simply attaching a hard pipe at the outlet or use it for vertical pouring up to G + 3 floors. Thanks to its light weight superstructure and modular design it is possible to mount on a 16 Ton truck and offers customers unbeatable value for money. The compact size of this boom truck makes it usable under bridges, on barges, inside excavation and dam sites and so it is also a favourite with all road contractors.

One of our customers has called it the ‘Ultimate Urban Machine’ which can be used to pump many residential jobs with minimum set up time. The machine uses the proven three section Roll & Fold system for boom. Due to special 270° articulation for the ‘C’ section (last boom), there is no forbidden working range for this placing boom. The boom base and slewing drive is designed with a ‘Modular Design Principle’ to use up to 26 m boom and ensures reliability and long service life.

The concrete pump is equipped with Rock or Flat gate valve as per customer requirement and works with single circuit hydraulic system which is far more economical than its competitive products. The specially designed control block eliminates many fittings and criss-cross plumb lines there by reducing the hydraulic losses by 50 per cent while making easier and less time consuming. The widths of the front stabilisers are vary depending on the chassis selected while the rear stabilisers are fixed at 2,150 mm and on direct supporting cylinders.

A remarkable feature of all our boom pumps is the vector control system. This electronic ‘brain’ helps the operator by giving him constant feeds and data about the pup operation and also makes their job easier and safer. It is equipped with a ‘Fault Finding Mechanism’ that informs the operator about the internal running of the machine. You can also store critical pumping data and machine parameters in the Vector Control.n

For more details visit:
www. schwingstetterindia.com