Nishant Jain, Head- Business Development, Rollwell Group of Companies
On the material conveying side, we expect pipe conveyors to be used increasingly to avoid material spillage specially with long and high capacity conveying. We manufacture rollers with one of the lowest friction factors, which vastly reduce the power needs of the conveyors, says Nishant Jain, Head- Business Development, Rollwell Group of Companies. Excerpts from the interview
What is the current status of the bulk material handling equipment and systems?
Cement industry currently is reported to be operating far below capacity. However once infrastructure projects will take off, cement industry may have to go for expansion. Last 3 years have been challenging for many BMHE companies, but I would expect double digit CAGR starting next year for BMHE companies with strong fundamentals.
What are the technological/products trends in BHM equipment industry?
High speed and high capacity conveying will be required. Reliable and low maintenance equipment will be very critical. Environmental concerns will have to be addressed at the plant design stage and will govern the choice of equipment.
How do you ensure low cost per ton of material moved?
We focus on designing and manufacturing equipment which consumes least power and thus potentially reduces operation costs in high power centric equipment?s. Further most of our products offer working life guarantees which are significantly higher than our counter parts, which translate lower maintenance and operation costs. Challenging geographies call for innovation in design, layouts and selection of equipment. Given the fact that technology is available globally to handle most challenging situations.
Name some of your landmark projects? And which projects are you currently working on?
We were the first company in India to develop conveyor idlers for high speed conveying of 7m/sec and above. We designed, supplied and installed the first aluminum dome in India for limestone storage at Madras Cements. We have completed India?s biggest covered pet coke storage at Reliance Industries.
We are working on many pet coke / coal storage and handling solutions. All these developments have been made by using innovative technologies whereby the end objectives are met.
Have you launched any new products/systems lately?
Yes, many in fact. High speed conveyor idlers, low TIR/ low friction rollers for pipe conveyors, large pulleys of 2m and above widths, domes for coal and limestone storage, and circular roofs for petroleum tanks in India, to name a few.
What is the response of the industry to the newer developments you propose?
It is very encouraging. We had identified this space as the future and we already have orders for over 70 domes for different industries in the last 4 years. On the conveying side our low TIR rollers have been very successful compared to the imported rollers which were used earlier.