UP on German firm's expansion plan

Putzmeister — a major German construction equipment manufacturer— is setting eyes on tier-II towns in Uttar Pradesh to expand its market base.

The company is forging ties with local contractors, builders and real estate developers in the region to market its concrete pumping machines. Putzmeister was the turnkey partner in the iconic Burj Dubai Tower project.

The company has identified Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Allahabad, and Varanasi as potential towns, apart from Noida and Ghaziabad in the National Capital Region (NCR).

In India, the company had been associated with the Delhi Metro Corporation and various other condominium projects in the metro cities.

“An emerging economy like India should accord priority to the construction and real estate sector for faster socio-economic growth,” Wilfried Theissen, managing director, Putzmeister Concrete Machines, told Business Standard on sidelines of a conference here.

Putzmeister has a factory in Goa, where it manufacturers machinery having localisation percentage of almost 80 per cent. The unit also caters to other South Asian nations like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Nepal, apart from New Zealand and South Africa of late.

Commenting on the domestic economy, he said the access to money in India have become difficult due to high interest rates. “The government should take steps to ensure easy access to capital and facilitate investment.”