七妹导航

Brief us on your joint venture (JV) with CMC and your core strengths and competencies.

We have plans to manufacture the CMC range of products, especially the flat head cone crushers, in the future. These are one of the best in its class in the world crushing industry. These cone crushers are very well suited for portable plants which are the most preferred type of plants by the Indian infrastructure building companies due to its advantage of quick set up and dismantling after completion of the crushing task for their infrastructure projects. The advantage of these cones is that the output produced is cubical as it operates at a high speed. The maintenance is much less in comparison with steep head cones. The quality of these cones is the best in the world as they are being manufactured with high precision machines like Toshiba boring. All the machining facilities are in-house and there is a good quality check.

What are the range of products offered (through the JV) by you and their unique features?
Currently, our company manufactures feeding and screening equipment like grizzly feeders, vibrating screens and vertical shaft impact crushers (VSIs). VSIs are mostly used for sweetening/shaping of the finished aggregates to meet the stringent shape specifications for asphalt and cement concrete. VSIs are also extensively used for production of manufactured sand. As all the state governments are banning the excavation and dredging of river sand, there is a huge shortfall of this construction material in the Indian infrastructure industry. The only alternative is to manufacture artificial sand and our VSI is good for this application. VSI finds its place in the tertiary and quaternary stage of a crushing plant. This equipment and stations are sold independently and can be added to any existing plants for the production of manufactured sand.

We are planning to venture into the manufacture of primary and secondary crushers in the future, so that we can provide a one-stop shop for all our existing and new customers.

We do not supply a standard plant for all the crushing solutions. We consider crushing different from others and try to group our products and make a package for each of the crushing tasks.

What is the overall demand-supply scenario for crushers and screens for the aggregate and mining sectors?
Crushing and screening markets for aggregate and mining should not be grouped together. Mining is a very vast field which includes coal, iron ore, copper, gold, bauxite, limestone, quartzite, feldspar and few other minerals. Crushing and screening equipment and plants used in the coal industry and iron ore, copper and few other industries are entirely different. So, our company is not in a position to provide a solution for all the industries.

Our focus currently is only on the aggregate industry and on some mining projects like that of iron ore, limestone etc. Based on the market trend last year, we feel the overall market size for these segments would be approximately Rs 1,000 crore.

When do you expect a revival in the market and which verticals are expected to drive the demand?
We feel that the market would be dull this year. It's likely to pick up from the last quarter of this year and do better in the next financial year.

What has been Core's strategy in the current scenario where the demand for crushers has lessened considerably?
As explained above, we do not sell standard plants as we consider each crushing or screening task as different from the other. We aim to offer custom-built plants which will make us a cut above the others. Also, we are tapping export markets in certain areas which keep us busy in the present market conditions.

How has the sale of crushers and screens been?
The market for crushers and screens goes hand-in-hand and there is no specific classification. However, in future, we will replace the existing screens installed in the un-organised market with our screens. It will take some time for the markets to improve and to enter into this business.

How has the company been addressing issues like the devaluation of the rupee, high cost of funding, and increasing cost of input materials?
The rupee devaluation is really a big concern for the entire industry, especially all Indian manufacturers who have to import certain components like bearings for all crushing and screening equipment. We have to live with this and reduce our profit margins. We have been working on fine tuning our designs to keep ourselves competitive in the market. However, we are still importing cones, which affect our margins.

How is Core geared to meet the rapidly changing service parameters and high level of expectation from the end-users?
We work closely with our customers. Our service team interacts with the plant operators and guides them on the normal maintenance and preventive maintenance jobs to be carried out. We also take valuable inputs from the end-users, analyse them and incorporate them if viable. We always feel that the customer is our business partner and hence will always try to meet their expectations.

What was Core Crushers' performance in 2012 like and how do you expect 2013 to be?
Core's performance has been encouraging in 2012 but definitely 2013 has been slow. We expect to make up through exports and by concentrating on product development.

Brief us on the fuel/energy efficient technologies incorporated in your range of products.

We are in the business of rock breaking. Such exercise requires energy/power. There is nothing like energy-efficient crushing and screening technology. If you do the right application engineering (selecting the correct machines for intended application), it will certainly help you in reducing the overall power required for the crushing task. We have an experienced application engineering team and consultants associated with us to do the most economical and fuel efficient crushing.

What about the training of the personnel handling the equipment?
The Indian infrastructure sector has been growing at a rapid pace. It is always difficult to develop manpower that has quality and is knowledgeable to operate and maintain such equipment and plants as most of the operating personnel in this industry are not highly educated.

We at Core Crushing try to give utmost importance to train the end-user personnel in operation and maintenance of the equipment and plant so that they understand the equipment well, minimise the abuse of the machine and thereby increase the productivity and life of the equipment.

What is your view of the increasing competition and what makes Core different?
Competition is part of any business activity. Understanding the customer's requirements and providing the required support is very important. We at Core Crushing try to meet the customer's satisfaction and this is helping us to grow.

Any new products expected to be launched?
We have plans to develop new products like jaw crushers, cone crushers and mobile plants by the end of this year.