In terms of construction methods, the Indian market is still a stationary pump market while the rest of the world uses Truck pumps for majority of the applications. However due to a demand in productivity, quality and safety this is changing fast in India with demand for Truck mounted pumps now increasing gradually.

Technological innovation of Putzmeister Pumps
The company spends approximately 5 per cent of sales revenue p.a. in R&D. In markets like India, where one has to reinforce products to the difficult working environment and meet the road regulation at the same time, it is definitely more
 
The core competencies of Putzmeister India lie in its products, quality and service.
The company brings the latest technology being used worldwide to India such as free flow hydraulics, S-valve, cross outriggers, highly wear resistant steel components and many other advanced features. All features, like the diagonal support system, the S-Valve technology, the Z or RZ-folding system of booms or free flow hydraulics has set the standard in this industry because they add value to the business of customers.

Putzmeister Concrete pumps are the most competitive construction machines as far as value for money is concerned. Putzmeister has specially developed machines for the Indian market, which can withstand the toughest conditions at the job site and contains the latest technology at the same time. Since all Putzmeister pumps have lower operating and maintenance costs, it is known for ‘better value for money’.

The outstanding diagonal support system can compensate the week structure of the Indian truck chassis. Likewise the separate deck engines delivers the required power to drive the boom and to pump the concrete but only consume 50 per cent of the fuel which a truck engine will use if deck engine is not available. The Free Flow hydraulics circuit consumes less oil and the customer saves money at every oil change.

Putzmeister products offer an attractive blend of high technology, low operating and maintenance costs. All its pumps, stationary or boom, are equipped with the latest S-valve technology, which is much superior to other contemporary technologies. It prevents frequent breakdowns and ensures uninterrupted flow of work, unlike pumps using any other technology.

S -Valve technology
When Putzmeister entered the Indian market in 2007, we started promoting the latest concrete pump technology which is based on S-Valve technology. We found that the majority of the market still uses gate valve pumps, which have been phased out in Europe in the 70’s because of high wear & tear.

Customers in India who have tested S-valve technology are very pleased with the long service life of the main wear parts and the low diesel and hydraulic oil consumption. Due to the closed circuit, S-valve pumps can develop higher pressure which allows pumping to greater heights. Additional advantages include cleaning of the pumps. Due the closed circuit, water can be pumped by the S-valves to clean the entire system. Another advantage of S-valve pumps is the reverse pumping. Using reverse pumping smaller choking can be solved without disassembling and cleaning of the pipeline. This S-Valve technology allows pumping with higher concrete pressure to reach higher output at greater heights. At the same time, the wear and tear of an S-valve pump is lower and so the operation costs are considerably low.

Beside the lower operation cost, the pump operation is more comfortable. Due to the close circuit of an S-valve pump, the pump and pipeline can be cleaned by simply pumping water instead of concrete. With Putzmeister concrete pumps, reverse pumping is also possible which allows solving the choking problem in many cases without disassembling of the pipeline.

The S-Valve technology has been proven to be most economical way to switch from one delivery cylinder to the other. The advantage of one side wear and tear and the ability to adjust the gap between the spectacle plate and the wear ring makes the S-valve technology the most economical solution.

Free flow hydraulics - enables a low volume of hydraulic oil in the system. With every oil change the customer saves money. A lot of boom pumps are working in Delhi in order to enable clients to finish the projects within the time line given by the commonwealth games. Another example is the refineries of customers like Essar and Reliance in Jamnagar.

At almost all airport projects in India, Putzmeister boom pumps have been deployed. The latest airports are the new terminal of Delhi International airport, the airport in Chennai as well as in Bangalore.

Diagonal support system
The diagonal support system is especially beneficial for local trucks. The diagonal support system guides the forces of the boom via the outrigger to the ground. The outrigger are located at the rear side of the boom placer, these forces must go through the entire frame for the truck which shorten the lifespan of the equipment.

Concrete Pumps for India must be specially designed for this specific market otherwise they will not perform. Only one example is the deck engine which was added to the boom pumps in order to cope with the weak truck engines. These deck engines provide the required power and have much lower fuel consumption as the truck engines. Further, imported products which are designed for other markets cannot work in India.

Largest Boom Pump
In India the length of the boom is limited by the weight limit of the truck. The biggest homologated Boom Placer is the BSS4614 with maximum vertical reach of 45.1 m (148 ft) and horizontal reach of 41.1 m (134 ft). This boom placer is mounted on a 3 axle trailer which is pulled by a 3 axle truck. With this 6 axle it can stay within the weight limits of 49 tons.

In the past some customer had imported a Putzmeister M52 boom placer for a special project but it was only allowed to drive on the job site and the pump had to be sent back after completion of the project.

Globally the biggest boom placer is the BSS70 with a vertical reach of 69.3. The machine is also based on a trailer concept like the BSS4614 but has 10 axles. This machine is well accepted in the Middle East, Europe and especially in the US.