Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), a government-related organisation that works to promote mutual trade and investment between Japan and rest of the world, is upbeat on forging tie-ups between the Japanese and Indian construction equipment (CE) makers.
Presently, JETRO has managed to bring 13 mid-sized construction equipment manufacturers from Japan to showcase their products and technologies at Excon 2011, an international exhibition on construction equipment at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) on the outskirts of Bangalore.
“Japanese companies are well-known for their technology and we have 13 companies from Japan participating for the first time at Excon. At least three of them are actively looking at opportunities to enter into joint ventures with Indian CE makers and make use of the growing potential for equipment sales here in India,” Masaki Ida, Chief Director General, JETRO, New Delhi, told Business Standard..
He said, three CE makers from Japan such as Toyota Kohki Co Ltd, Ueda Industries Co Ltd and Chikusui Canycom, Inc are in talks with several Indian companies for forging joint venture partnerships. To begin with, these companies want to first export their machines and then go in for joint venture partnerships with Indian companies, he said.
“We have invited 36 Indian companies including Ashok Leyland John Deere, L&T, Escorts Construction and JCB among others to discuss the possibility of forming JV in India,” Ida said. He said there is a huge demand for Japanese construction equipment in the Indian market. The Japanese products have huge demand from India for applications in coal and iron ore mining, road construction and large-scale infrastructure projects, he said.
For the year 2010, the companies from Japan exported equipment worth Rs 1,200 crore to their Indian customers. For the current year, it is expected to go up significantly, he said. Toyota Kohki Co Ltd, which manufactures excavators, material handling equipment, machinery for tunnel making, road making and tractors, wants to set up its assembly plant in Bangalore and is actively looking for a joint venture partner, Ida said.
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Ueda Industries manufactures excavators, concrete equipment, machinery for tunnel making, foundation works equipment among others. Chikusui Canycom manufactures crawler carriers that are widely used for agricultural applicatioins, parks maintenance, landscaping among others. These two companies are yet to decide on the location to set up their plants in India. All the 13 companies from Japan are participating at Japan pavilion at Excon in Bangalore. Apart from these mid-size companies from Japan other construction equipment majors like Hitachi and Komatsu are already present in India with their joint venture partners like Tata Motors and L&T.
Kobelco is another Japanese major that has presence in India.