Not easy to bring high-tech machines to replace manpower in India

Focusing exclusively on the underground mining and tunnelling market, Antraquip has evolved in general construction space as well. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Peter J Mitterndorfer, Vice President, Antraquip</span> shares more... <p></p> <p><span style="font-weight: bold;">One pathbreaking offering: </span>We are the only company that is focused exclusively on mechanised cutting technology that comes from the underground mine road headers and continuous miner type machines. It has evolved now on to the surface with drum cutters, wheel saws etc. </p> <p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Demand drivers in 2019:</span> We feel the tunnelling market is an entry point for our organisation besides infrastructure and pipeline development projects. Tunnelling market remains core part of our business and we want to focus on it, especially in India. Announcement contributing to the company's growth in 2018: We continue to evolve the product line and we are proud of some of the developments we have made. Challenge for the company in 2019: We have had some success sporadically in India. The key is building it up slowly but surely. We see that sales cycles are relatively long. In India, a lot of work is done manually and it is not easy to bring high-tech machines to replace manpower. However, the trend is gradually picking up.</p> <p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Key strategy to success in 2019:</span> Proper work on the front end to make sure we are contacting and connecting with clients and their needs on a regular basis is our key strategy. </p> <p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Recommendation for the construction equipment market growth:</span> It is difficult to revamp the culture in terms of how the decision-making happens within an organisation in India. It will be easier if there were some more openness to new technology and being quicker on the front end.</p> <p></p>