Says P K Madappa, Managing Director, Macmet India Ltd, in a candid interview with Indian Cement Review. Read on, to know about the future plans, strategies and various services offered by Macmet India.Please tell us the genesis of Macmet India.Macmet India Ltd was started in 1974 as an agency house, representing foreign companies in India. In the early 1980s the company set up a workshop to manufacture components for material handling systems. From mid-1980s the company started manufacturing bulk material handling systems for cement, steel and mining industries. Today, Macmet is one of the leading supplier of bulk material handling systems.Please describe in detail about the material handling products you offer for the cement industry? We provides reliable, material handling solutions such as overland conveyors, pipe conveyors and curved belt conveyors to cement plants, power plants, steel plants, mines and ports. The design, the selection of material and manufacturing methods ensure reliable installations that have minimum down time and provide lowest ‘cost of ownership’.Macmet is the first company in India to indigenously design, supply, erect, test and commission a long distance overland conveyor with curves for the Kymore Works of ACC Ltd to transport limestone from the mines to the plant. The total route length of the conveyor is 10.6 km. Such long conveyors normally follow the contour of the terrain which often involves curves in both horizontal and vertical planes. Availability of high strength steel cord belting and sophisticated dynamic model analysis for assessing the behaviour of the conveyor along the curves have encouraged customers to opt for long distance conveyors.We are also the leading supplier of pipe conveyors in India. Our company was the first to supply an indigenously designed pipe conveyor for ACC Limited. Macmet has also supplied India’s longest (2.4 km) EP belting pipe conveyor for ACC Ltd’s Chaibasa Unit. India has recently commissioned the world’s second longest pipe conveyor (7 km) carrying 1,500 tonne of coal per hour from mines to O P Jindal Super Thermal Power Plant. Macmet manufactures belt trippers, either fixed or travelling type with one/two/three way chutes, used for intermittent side discharge of material from the belt conveyor. Macmet also supplies travelling hoppers used for transfer of material associated with short period, intermediate storage.Please tell us about the various milestones achieved by material handling division? We have supplied the maximum number of pipe conveyors in India. We are the only Indian company that has sold pipe conveyors internationally. Macmet has the distinction of building the world’s second longest pipe conveyor (7 km). The company is presently executing more than 15 km of pipe conveyor projects. Macmet is also executing a 21 km cross country belt conveyor system, the longest such system in India.Please tell us about the awards and certificates received by the material handling division?We have been the recipient of Certificate of Excellence from the Engineering Export Promotion Council, Eastern Region, for the past 8 years.Who are your domestic buyers and what is your share in domestic market and export? Ambuja Cements, ACC Limited, TISCO, Jindal Steel & Power, Hindalco are some of our esteemed customers.What are the latest material handling technologies manufactured by you that controls environment pollutions?The pipe conveyor is one of the most innovative solutions for control of environment pollution when transporting bulk raw material. Pipe conveyors are an environmental-friendly solution for conveying bulk material with zero spillage and ability to cover terrain, difficult to negotiate by conventional conveyors.What all strategies has the company adopted to increase its market shares in the cement industry?Macmet believes in delivering systems that are engineered efficiently. We lay stress on timely deliveries. We design systems that help reduce power consumption and increase working life of our systems.What is the share of cement industry’s in your total material handling equipment business?Approximately 40 per cent of our bulk material systems (MHE) are supplied to the cement sector.Please tell us about technical collaboration, if anyMacmet has been working closely with Bridgestone TPE and other noted experts in the field of material handling.Please describe in detail about your R&D department? We have an engineering department where a lot of time is devoted to providing efficient engineering solutions to the client. This includes reduction in the quantities of steel in manufacturing the system, reducing power consumption of the conveyor systems and increasing the efficiency of the system to reduce down time and costs. These benefits are incorporated into our projects.What are the new material handling products that you are going to introduce for the cement industry?We have a tie-up with Taim Weser for the manufacture and supply of stackers, reclaimers, ship loaders and unloaders. We plan to introduce these products in the near future. Further, we are looking to complement our material handling systems with other equipment that go with bulk material handling.What growth do you foresee in the next five years for the cement material handling equipment? Which would be the growth drivers? Bulk material handling business is expected to more than double in the next 5 years. With an expected increase in cement capacity, there will be requirement for material handling systems. With mines located at a distance from cement plants, long distance cross country conveyors will become more popular. Old cement plants are being revamped and their capacity augmented. This also results in increase in demand for material handling systems.What is your turnover? What was the growth in the last five years? Macmet has targeted a turnover of Rs 200 crores in 2012. This is more than double its turnover in 2009.What are your future plans for the material handling division? Macmet will continue to develop innovative solutions to help customers move bulk material faster and cheaper. We will introduce Taim Weser’s range of products such as stackers, reclaimers, ship loaders and unloaders. Further, other systems that complement our conveyor system at the loading and unloading end will be introduced in the latter half of 2011.In the next five years, 200 million tonnes will be added to the cement capacity? Is the material handling industry geared-up to the demand?Yes, Macmet is geared up to meet the increasing demand for higher capacity, more efficient material handling systems.Who are your major competitors – Domestic and International? Locally, FLS Minerals, ThyssenKrupp Industries India, Elecon are our competitors. Internationally, Koch (now FLS Minerals), ThyssenKrupp AG and various local manufacturers are our competition.It requires skilled manpower to operate the material handling equipment, so while delivering the equipment, do you train your client’s operator or provide skilled operator to the client? After commissioning our system we generally remain at site for 2-3 months to fine tune the system and train customer’s personnel. We provide a ‘hand holding’ period for the customer to feel comfortable while operating the system. We always insist on customers deputing some skilled manpower during the commissioning phase so as to get the customer acquainted with the technology, system and any problems that may arise during operation.How do you rate your conveying systems in comparison to other domestic supplier and imported? Macmet’s conveyor systems are at par with the best available in the country. We have completed many unique projects that are running successfully. Repeat orders are our best indication of customer satisfaction.What is the latest development in MHE technology with regard to environment and pollution control?The pipe conveyor is one of the important technologies that have emerged in the last few years for controlling pollution when transporting bulk material. Technology for dust extraction and dust suppression has also improved. Covered storage of raw material helps control pollution.