How is the medium and heavy-duty mobile cranes market progressing in India? Which projects are the major demand drivers?
The country is witnessing a robust demand for cranes, with increasing utilisation and yield, due to ramp up in capacity addition across core sectors. With the pickup in the capex cycle, the thrust on infrastructure and core sectors, and the resilient Indian corporate houses, we see a strong demand for cranes over the next two to three years.

In the thermal power sector, NTPC is executing several ultra mega power projects across the nation. These projects are in the 660 to 800 MW class with a total capacity addition of 9,840 MW. The cement sector is witnessing aggressive capacity addition with greenfield and brownfield expansions of 18.15 MTPA. Similarly, the steel sector is expected to add 13.5 MTPA in Kalinganagar, Bellary and Angul.

Several expansions, upgradations and new refinery and petrochemical projects are coming up in Barmer, Paradip, Vizag, Baruni, Panipat, Vadodara and Mahul with a combined new capacity of 20.6 MTPA. The rapid urban infrastructure upgradation has led to the development of metros across various cities. Moreover, the high-speed railway presents massive opportunities for the construction equipment rental industry. In the next FY, the wind sector will add approximately 2,200 to 2,500 MW, which will create a lot of demand for cranes.

The mobile cranes market in India is still dominated by pick-n-carry cranes. Why?
At big project sites, clients require lower capacity material handling equipment for handling small material. Pick-and-carry equipment dominates the mobile crane market as the initial investment is comparatively lower and this equipment is readily available with manufacturers. In the lower segment, these equipments are mostly hydras. Pick-and-carry equipment is versatile, easy to maintain, and have low cost of operations. Nevertheless, we believe that pick-and-carry equipment have certain technical limitations such as a lower capacity, less stability, and are more prone to accidents.

How do you look at the trend of multi-utility pick-n-carry cranes with added attachments?
Multi utility pick-and-carry cranes are being replaced by equipment such as telehandlers which have many dynamic features. These telehandlers perform well at job sites as they are versatile and therefore have a multi-purpose functionality. They come with a variety of attachments such as the general-purpose shovel, heavy duty forks, bucket with grab, crane hook, grain bucket, power grab, and man platform and drum handlers, all of which enable the machine to do a variety of jobs on site, which enhance its overall utility. Telehandlers are best suited for congested spaces on sites due to their compact sizes, and their all-terrain features are useful for uneven ground conditions.

How do you look at the market recovery and outlook for mobile cranes? What will drive the growth in the future?
Sanghvi Movers is seeing demand across sectors such as thermal power, petrochemical and refineries, oil and gas, steel, cement, windmills, railways, metros and bridges projects, and for construction applications like erection, heavy lifting, and maintenance services. Demand for mobile cranes is coming from across the country and we have 130 active job sites. Our current utilisation levels are around 82 per cent and have gone up by 15 per cent as compared to the last financial year which experienced the second wave of the pandemic year.

As a pioneer in the crane rental industry, Sanghvi Movers realised that one of the biggest challenges for the industry was completing projects on time with good vendors. In order to leverage the upcoming opportunities, we have started offering value added services such as engineering, lift planning and turnkey EPC solutions. Our customers are keen to work with a company that has a reputation for delivery, a track record of safety, and the highest quality of manpower and equipment.