FCC

Interview: Ramesh Palagiri, MD & CEO, Wirtgen India

2023-12-06

How is your company preparing for Excon 2023?

This year at Excon, we are participating with an Indoor stall of 640 sq m, wherein we will show-case the latest technologies and innovations from the Wirtgen Group.

What steps is your company taking to address sustainability and environmental concerns through your product offerings?

The Wirtgen Group is a pioneer in the realisation of greater mobility in road construction. And, in this process, sustainability is a mainstay of the group’s corporate strategy. As a part of the John Deere Construction and Forestry Division, the sustainability goals of the Wirtgen Group make a valuable contribution to the overall strategy. For instance, a significant reduction of the emissions of transporting and operating machines and the overall activities at the group’s production facilities and sites is expected by 2030. At the same time, the Wirtgen Group anticipates a continuous increase in the number of sustainable machine and technology solutions by 2026.

Will your company be launching any products or initiatives at Excon 2023 that will align with Excon’s theme of “Building a Better World” through sustainable practices?

This year at Excon, through our Indoor booth, we will digitally showcase the various technologies and innovations of the Wirtgen Group. Alongside machine efficiency and alternative applications and methods, digitisation and connected system solutions are important drivers in the development of the overall road construction process chain. The Wirtgen Group has developed application-specific core technologies as well as digital solutions and technologies of tomorrow that which are already available for our customers. All of these will be showcased at Excon.

How do you look at the market in India for your products?

With global warming and climate change problems causing growing concern among people worldwide, many industries have increased their efforts to become environmentally conscious; the CE industry too isn’t far behind in this journey. According to a recent report, around half of all non-renewables are consumed by construction, rendering it one of the least sustainable industries in the world. The CE Industry is hence bracing itself to adopt and reap the full benefits of sustainable technologies to boost its competitive advantage and improve its bottom line.

India is at the threshold of becoming one of the foremost developing countries in which infra-structure is growing at a fast pace. Given this great opportunity, deploying smart and sustainable construction equipment will increase demand for such machinery apart from assuring resources for the future. The Wirtgen Group has already geared up for this.

What are the various challenges faced in the sector you are in?

Our industry is facing the growing need for infrastructure. Job sites need to be realised quickly, economically and sustainably. On the other hand, the shortage of skilled workers also poses ma-jor challenges for the construction companies.

In terms of performance, how was the year 2023 for the company?

We would like to highlight that 2023 has been an exceptional year for us. It stands as one of the most successful years in the history of Wirtgen Group in India, both in terms of the domestic market and exports.