Indranil Roy, Director-MHE, thyssenkrupp Industries India Pvt Ltd

thyssenkrupp is one of the leaders in MHE, boiler, cement and sugar plant equipment. With a proven track record of more than five decades we offer outstanding products and services to ensure customers satisfaction. We are also a most preferred manufacturing unit not only in the country but around the globe, having successfully supplied products and offerings to plants in different parts of the world.

Indranil Roy, Director-MHE, thyssenkrupp Industries India Pvt Ltd shares his insight with Sandeep Sharma about the company, objectives, core competencies, unique features of material handling offerings, level of customisation offered, innovation, R&D initiatives, market size of bulk material handling systems, future plans and impact of GST. Edited excerpts...

Tell us about your company, objectives and core competencies?
thyssenkrupp has been operating in the fields of Open Cast Mining & Bulk Material Handling Systems, Cement Plant & Machinery, Steam & Power Generation Plants and Sugar Plant & Machinery. Various equipment associated with these divisions are manufactured in-house by thyssenkrupp. To name a few continuous mining machinery, stockyard yard machine, wagon unloading system, crusher, screen, belt conveying system for the Mining and Material handling industry, cement kiln, ball mill, poly-track cooler and dynamic separator for the cement industry, circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) boiler, oil/ gas fired boiler, waste heat recovery boiler, travelling grate boiler for captive power consumption and centrifugal machine, cane mill and process house equipment for the sugar industry.

Full-fledged, in-house manufacturing facilities at Pimpri, Pune and Hyderabad enable the company to ensure strict compliance to project requirements and effectively control quality and workmanship, while ensuring timely deliveries. Well-honed project management expertise seamlessly integrates the engineering, procurement and manufacturing chain, to provide clients with a single point control that ensures the project remains on track.

What kind of material handling equipment / solutions do you provide? What are the unique features of these offerings?
Our expertise lies in designing, manufacturing and installing Bulk Material Handling Equipment/complete plants on turnkey basis and we are leaders in these fields, with world renowned technology

The products/solutions offered for bulk material handling are as followed:

• Continuous Mining Equipment
• Bucket Wheel Excavators
• Spreaders
• Belt Wagons
• Shiftable Conveyors
• Transport Crawlers

Tandem Wagon Tipplers – thyssenkrupp is the first company to have developed and installed tandem wagon tipplers in India fulfilling new RDSO requirement successfully. The tandem wagon tippler supplied by thyssenkrupp is in operation for about 2 years and the performance has been very satisfactory achieving unloading of 7 rakes per day. 

Stackers, Reclaimers Stacker cum Reclaimers – thyssenkrupp has a huge range of stackers and reclaimers including:

• Circular stackers
• Circular portal reclaimers
• Portal reclaimers
• Barrel reclaimers
• Reversible stacker cum reclaimers etc.
• Ship loaders, Ship unloaders, Barge Loaders & Barge unloaders
• Pipe Conveyors
• Troughed Belt Conveyors
• Crushers (gyratory, jaw, cone, hammer, etc.)
• Ball mills (dry as well as wet), rod mills, SAG mills
• Dryers for various minerals and ores. 

All the above equipment’s are available for various ores / minerals and for a wide range of capacities.
What level of customization do you offer in case of conveyor solutions for the mining segment?
All the products and systems of thyssenkrupp are customised to client’s requirements. In case of conveyor systems, thyssenkrupp has been supplying the following:

• Pipe conveyors with triangular gallery and maintenance trolley
• Pipe conveyor with conventional gallery with walkway
• Troughed conveyors
• Shiftable conveyors

thyssenkrupp has also developed a unique product called Mega-Pipe which is a pipe conveyor with ribbed belt to achieve much higher angles of conveying (0-35 deg) which can be extremely cost effective for conveying material deep in the mine to the surface.

In short, thyssenkrupp has wide range of products in its portfolio which can be combined to offer customised and cost effective solutions tailor-made to suit customers’ requirements.  

How far thyssenkrupp is successful and active on the innovation and R&D front?
thyssenkrupp worldwide invests significant resources in R&D activities to provide the customers with the latest equipment in different fields that we are operating in. Our products are designed with a simple philosophy of higher efficiency, lower maintenance and the least emissions. Strong design & engineering which is our core strength, forms the basis of our business. 

Our design & engineering team works in close co-ordination with our global business units thereby continuously upgrading technology and products in line with international standards focusing on innovative solutions also incorporating client feedback received from several installations in the country.

What parameters are critical for setting up coal handling system in a Power plant project?
Some of the critical parameters for setting up coal handling system are:

• Environmental aspects – Proper selection of equipment ensures that there are no adverse effects due to emissions, noise and effluents. Suitable provisions to comply with environmental regulations are incorporated in the design of buildings, structures, etc.
• Capacity of the thermal power plant, availability of coal and its quality – Sieve analysis of coal plays an important role in the design of crushing and screening system. Typically, Indian coal has high moisture content as compared to imported coal. Lump size and moisture content play a key role in conveyor design.
• Method of coal linkage – the design of unloading system and subsequent equipment is based on the method of coal transportation from coal mine to the plant.
• Land availability – Layout of the coal handling system depends on the availability of land.
• Site Location – Soil samples from the site are tested to check environmentally fragile areas. Foundation and structures are designed accordingly.
• Plant availability – The design parameters for operating the coal handling system depend on it.
• Nature of the project – Greenfield or Brownfield.

What can be the market size of bulk material handling equipment/systems industry in India? What's your market share?
Our Mining business is divided into three segments viz. Material Handling, Mining Systems and Mineral Processing. The Material Handling business typically caters to the material handling requirements of Power sector, Steel sector, Mining sector and Port sector. Thus, we are a well-diversified unit within the Mining segment.

With the government’s thrust on the Port sector, with initiatives such as the Sagarmala project, our market size is expected to increase. However, the market for the Thermal power sector is expected to shrink with government’s thrust on renewable energy. Steel sector is in the revival phase and expected to offer substantial business opportunities in the near future. thyssenkrupp enjoys a significant market share in material handling industry and is poised to cater to different requirements of the industry. 


Could you comment on the impact of GST on the business at large?
GST is a revolutionary change in the Indian tax system. We expect the long term benefits to be substantial. One of the major benefits, which we expect, is faster movement of goods across the country.

Before implementation of GST, the Mining and Bulk material handling equipment attracted tax of 12.5% Excise Duty, VAT 12% to 14% or CST 2% and entry tax in few states. After the recent course correction by the GST council the percentage for most of the products attract 18% while few are still in the slab of 28%. The acclimatization of GST by the industry is essential for clarity of the input percentage applicable for our equipment. Once the same is in place, we are hopeful that prices shall stabilize.

Going forward, where do you see thyssenkrupp in the next five years?
thyssenkrupp is one of the leaders in MHE, boiler, cement and sugar plant equipment. With a proven track record of more than five decades we offer outstanding products and services to ensure customers satisfaction. We are also a most preferred manufacturing unit not only in the country but around the globe, having successfully supplied products and offerings to plants in different parts of the world.

For e.g., we have supplied gearless pulleys for various projects in Peru, Chile, Tibet and Mongolia. 
Another significant initiative of the company is to create a Network of Excellence (NoE) and identify / develop engineering centres in different countries that focus on certain specialised engineering activities and cater to global requirement. This allows us to advance our customers and give them a competitive edge.