Putzmeister confident of Indian boom

Putzmeister Concrete Machines is seeing strong demand for concrete pumps in India, and in particular for its 46 m trailer mounted boom pump, which it claims is the tallest currently available in the country.

Speaking to iC during the bC India exhibition in Mumbai, managing director Michael Schmid-Lindenmayer said many of the country's large infrastructure projects such as airports, ports and bridges are using boom pumps, and demand is growing.

"Larger boom pumps had to be imported for such projects, so the market was already there for a taller version to be manufactured in the country," Mr Schmid-Lindenmayer said.

Putzmeister is showcasing its BSS 46 trailer-mounted boom pump at the bC India show. The pump has a maximum vertical reach of 45.1 m and horizontal reach of 41.1 m. It is also mounted on a homologated trailer which is allowed to run on Indian roads.

"India is our second most important market and it is booming already, but the market is very much splitting off into two groups," Mr Schmid-Lindenmayer said.

"On the one hand, there is demand for high tech, higher priced concrete pumps for the biggest builds, while on the other hand the mass market wants lower-cost equipment with a focus on productivity and basic mechanics," Mr Schmid-Lindenmayer explained.

"Our factory in Goa manufactures trailer pumps, but we still import the high technology components from Germany. If you don't manufacture or at least assemble in India, you can never be a market leader," Mr Schmid-Lindenmayer said.

"We are dominating the truck pump market at the moment, and had around a 60% market share in 2010," he added.

Putzmeister is showcasing a full range of trailer pumps at the bC India show, with concrete pressures ranging from 60 bar for use on buildings up to 15 floors, to 450 bar for buildings as high as 125 floors.

India-based Putzmeister Concrete Machines is a subsidiary of Germany-based parent, Putzmeister Concrete Pumps.