Economy & Market

“Service side players might take over distribution business”

Published

9 years ago

March 31, 2018

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– Nitin Vyas, Managing Director, Beumer Group
Even as prepares the market for alternate fuels in India, Nitin Vyas, Managing Director, Beumer Group feels that the cement distribution business might witness the rise of an Uber like aggregator.Tell us something about your most interesting products in the market?
Automatic bag applicator or placer, specifically for PP/HDPE woven stitched bags because till date no technology supplier has developed such a machine for those kinds of bags. We guarantee a very high shooting accuracy with some of the applicators having already been implemented with our customers in India. In addition, we have also launched our new generation automatic filling machines for cement that are compact in design, consume less power, low on deadweight and with plenty of digital interfaces. It’s a completely different level of technology with weighing accuracy higher than what is available in the market. We are also trying to position it under the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ initiatives of the government. Moreover, we are producing these machines not only for India but also for the global market from India. For instance, we are also supplying from here to China. The last product that we are putting in the packing line is the automatic truck loader machine. At 8 kW it consumes very less power. We have already successfully implemented 35 of these machines here.To what extent do your machines help in reducing cost at a packing plant?
There are two factors to that. One, you are saving a lot of time. So, for a truck of 20 tonne, which typically takes up to one hour to load, that reduces to 15 minutes. On average, a packing plant operates at around 80 tonnes per hour. If by making a line automatic I am able to take it to up to 120 tonnes per hour, I am making around 30 tonnes per hour increase in productivity. Once that is achieved, my customer can shut down one of the shifts at the plant. That is how you enhance productivity and reduce cost. However, I would also like to add that if you believe that by reducing people you will be also reducing cost, you are mistaken. By putting automation, you will only reduce the number of people and not the manpower cost. Rather, it will either remain the same or be higher. The reason is the moment you put technology, you will need people with higher skills and your cost will also go up. But bring in efficiency to increase productivity and you can produce 15 to 20 per cent more with the same fixed cost. And that’s what is actually your saving.What percentage of your R&D happens in India?
We jointly work with our central R&D team for certain products in Germany. We have been allocated certain projects for localisation. But those are not completely driven out of here. Our development centre in India is located on five acres in Gurugram. It has a workshop and four floors of office block with around 200 engineers. We have a big automation lab over there. We do engineering for not only India but also our group companies in Thailand, UK and the Middle East. Do you perceive any major disruptions happening in cement?
I believe that some amount of disruptions will happen over the next five years in terms of distribution methodology. On the production side, I don’t think that many things will change. On the plant side, the only big change that I would see is higher usage of alternate fuels. We do a lot of business in alternate fuels outside India. We intend to start it in India and are in the midst of gauging the market. We see it as a potentially big market. When you indicate that there is likely to be disruption on the distribution side, what might that entail?
Currently the biggest cost drivers are over there. There will be players who will come in from the services side and take over cement distribution. There are already a couple of start-ups which are doing this in building materials. One of them is trying to consolidate all building materials, viz., cement, steel, gravel, etc., and connecting with the market. I believe that the next step for it would be having a platform for all cement-related industries to become an Uber of cement distribution. In the end, the cement producers would be containers, but the interface to the market would be the service companies who are reaching the material to the end customers. And that can’t be stopped. For instance, if I am the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and I want cement to be supplied for a road or bridge project, I can’t stop a start-up from bidding for the tender. And if I bid, I can negotiate the price at which I will be procuring from top cement manufacturers.Tell us something about your Beumer Overall Operation Monitoring (BOOM) app?
It has been mainly developed for the packing plant. On the operations side, you can connect it to all your packing or production lines to assess overall equipment effectiveness and analytics. At the execution level, it generates
MIS reports. Given the very traditional nature of the cement business, how have your customers responded to the app?
The moment decisions makers such as business owners, managing directors and CEOs see it, they want to download it. It makes them independent as it allows them to look up reports anytime, anywhere on their mobile phones. We like cab services like Uber or Ola because nobody tells us what we need to do. We become our own executives. We are pushing all the data on to cloud so that it remains secured. Some customers had this apprehension that the app might provide us with their despatch data. To allay their fears, we have provided them with guarantees in form of non-disclosure agreements. Given that a lot of emphasis is being given to infrastructure creation by the government what is your own outlook for the cement industry?
Although it is far better than earlier, we are still slow. As a country, we spend about 9 per cent of our GDP on infrastructure. In comparison, China at the peak of its development boom was spending 32 per cent of its GDP on infrastructure. In order to expedite infrastructure creation, we need to spend between 12 to 16 per cent of our GDP on infrastructure. Only then can we consume the capacity that has been added. We are sitting on 400 MT of capacity right now. To have good infrastructure in India, you need to have a capacity of 1 billion metric tonnes. But at the rate at
which we are going, we will reach 1 billion metric tonnes only by 2050. However, if we double it, we will we will reach there by 2030. As far as the overall business is concerned, I am very positive. This is going to be a very big year for Indian aviation as a number of runways and terminals are being built. On the port side, Sagarmala, interlinking of rivers and NHAI are going to pick up significant traction.-MANISH PANT

Economy & Market

Leonard Unveils Dual-Head Robotic Arm for Hazardous Industrial Demolition

Published

2 days ago

October 30, 2026

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Leonard unveils Descender Duo, a dual-head robotic demolition arm designed to improve industrial safety and reduce shutdown time by up to 50 per cent.

Industrial robotics and refractory services specialist Leonard has launched Descender Duo, a dual-head robotic demolition arm designed to improve safety, accelerate maintenance and reduce shutdown times in hazardous industrial environments. The system made its debut at Lisahally Power Station in Northern Ireland, removing 25 tonnes of slag material within hours.

Developed for the cement, metals, waste-to-energy and petrochemical industries, Descender Duo enables remote-controlled refractory demolition, anchor cutting and welding, and refractory spraying inside boilers, calciners and silos. Its vertical-access design eliminates the need for personnel to enter confined, high-risk spaces during these operations.

Weighing less than two tonnes, the pre-assembled system requires an access opening of just 1.2 m². Supported by an external overhead hoist, it uses electrically operated hydraulic stabilising legs to secure itself inside vessels. The robotic arm offers 360-degree rotation and is suited to vessels approximately 9 m in diameter, with its operating reach extendable through strategically positioned access points.

Equipped with two independently controlled robotic heads, Descender Duo can perform identical or different tasks simultaneously, including refractory demolition, anchor cutting and spraying. Its remote-control system incorporates live camera feeds, allowing operators to monitor operations without entering hazardous environments.

According to Leonard, the technology can deliver time savings of up to 50 per cent compared with manual methods. Its ability to operate at temperatures exceeding 100°C allows maintenance to begin as early as 24 hours after burner shutdown. An all-electric power supply further supports cleaner and more cost-efficient operations.

First Deployment Demonstrates Shutdown Efficiency

The system was first deployed at Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor’s (BWSC) Lisahally Power Station in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The facility generates electricity from grade C waste wood, supplying approximately 40,000 homes and businesses.

Leonard and BWSC collaborated to develop a customised solution for the plant’s 26-metre furnace, where extensive external pipework created significant access challenges.

Mark Leonard, Managing Director, Leonard, said, “It required new thinking and rather than step away from the problem we were committed to solving it for the customer, with the customer. We’re relentless in our approach to tackling complex challenges, head-on. We took our years of cement plant experience, coupled with our working knowledge of the BWSC plant, and designed, engineered and tested a completely new vertical solution within just seven weeks from that initial conversation with the customer. That solution was the Descender Duo as we know it today.”

Traditionally, the furnace required a cooling period of up to 36 hours before preparatory work could begin, followed by manual slag removal using rope-access personnel. With Descender Duo, work commenced just 24 hours after shutdown, reducing downtime by up to one day.

The deployment removed 25 tonnes of slag within hours, eliminated the need for at least six workers to enter the hazardous furnace interior and saved 26 hours in the shutdown programme.

“The effectiveness exceeded expectation,” said Martin Doran, Plant Manager at Lisahally Power Station.

“When the Descender Duo concept was first discussed, we had to spend some time with the team from Leonard looking at how it was going to be moved into the furnace. Every site is different and that presented its own challenges, but nothing that the team couldn’t overcome. Once it was installed we were hugely impressed by its efficiency.”

Expanding Industrial Robotics Applications

Descender Duo joins Leonard’s existing portfolio of robotic maintenance solutions, including the Axis horizontal-access arm, Nano confined-space access arm, Charger cement mill media recharging system and Calibre cement mill media grading system.

Headquartered in Northern Ireland, Leonard provides robotic refractory demolition, installation, inspection and industrial maintenance services across the cement, metals, energy, biomass, glass and civil engineering sectors.

Formerly known as G Leonard, the company has more than 35 years of industry experience and operates across Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific.

The latest innovation reinforces Leonard’s focus on replacing hazardous manual processes with robotic systems that improve workforce safety, enhance operational efficiency and minimise industrial downtime.

Concrete

Martin Engineering Appoints Ashwini Khunte as India General Manager

Published

2 days ago

October 30, 2026

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Martin Engineering names Ashwini Khunte India General Manager to strengthen operations and drive growth across key bulk material handling sectors.

Pune

Martin Engineering, a global provider of bulk material handling solutions, has appointed Ashwini Khunte as General Manager of its India business, strengthening its leadership as the company expands its presence across the country’s cement, mining, steel, power and infrastructure sectors.

Khunte brings more than a decade of experience with Martin Engineering, having joined its Indian operations in 2013 as a Design Engineer, shortly after the company established its presence in the country in 2012.

A mechanical engineer by qualification, she spent her initial five years developing bulk material handling solutions in collaboration with the company’s operations team. During this period, she gained extensive experience addressing operational challenges in the steel, cement and coal industries. She subsequently moved into project engineering, managing major engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) projects from initial enquiry to commissioning. Her responsibilities later expanded to overseeing Martin Engineering’s conveyor product portfolio in India, involving customer engagement, technical presentations and site visits across heavy industries.

In 2024, Khunte was promoted to Head of Sales & Marketing for the company’s Europe, Middle East, Africa and India (EMEAI) region. The position broadened her international market exposure and strengthened her strategic and commercial leadership capabilities.

Commenting on her appointment, Ashwini Khunte, General Manager, Martin Engineering India, said: “India represents a tremendous opportunity for Martin Engineering. The country’s continued investment in cement, mining, steel, power and infrastructure is creating increasing demand for safer, cleaner and more productive bulk material handling, and that’s exactly what we do. My priority will be to build on the strong foundations already established in India, while continuing to develop our people, strengthen customer relationships and bring practical solutions to the challenges faced by our industry.”

Robert Whetstone, Area Vice President – EMEAI, Martin Engineering, highlighted Khunte’s technical expertise, market understanding and leadership experience.

“Ashwini brings an exceptional combination of technical understanding, customer knowledge and commercial leadership. She has grown as Martin Engineering has grown, and has consistently demonstrated outstanding capability to transform her expertise into practical solutions. Her knowledge of the Indian market, together with her international experience, makes her ideally suited to lead our India business through its next stage of growth for years to come.”

Since establishing its Indian business in 2012, Martin Engineering has expanded its local workforce, manufacturing capabilities and dealership network. The company supplies conveyor products, transfer point solutions, material flow aids, training and technical support to bulk material handling industries. Khunte’s appointment positions the company to further strengthen customer relationships and expand its solutions portfolio in India’s growing industrial and infrastructure markets.

Concrete

Fornnax Wins AIRIA’s Special Export Award for Rubber Machinery in 2025-26

Published

2 weeks ago

October 19, 2026

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Fornnax Technology Pvt. Ltd. has been honoured with the Special Export Award – Rubber Machinery for 2025–26 by the All-India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA), in recognition of its highest exports of tyre recycling plants to the European region.

With more than a decade of experience in India’s tyre recycling industry, Fornnax has contributed to the development of advanced recycling technologies and infrastructure. The company currently holds a 90% market share in India’s domestic tyre recycling sector, while exports account for 30% of its business, spanning markets such as Europe, Australia and the GCC.

The award marks another milestone for Fornnax, whose tyre recycling lines and advanced shredding technologies are supporting the growth of the circular economy in India and international markets.

Commenting on the recognition, Mr. Jignesh Kundaria, Founder and Director of Fornnax, said:

“This honour from AIRIA is a reflection of an incredible journey we have undertaken over the years. When we started Fornnax, there was no established recycling industry in India to follow. We chose to build for the future instead. Today, when you see India’s tyre recycling sector, it has already transformed into a dynamic, high-growth industry and we are extremely proud to have played our part in building it.”

Unlike standalone equipment suppliers, Fornnax focuses on developing complete, high-capacity recycling infrastructure. Its integrated systems combine multiple stages of shredding and size reduction to enable efficient, continuous operations. This system-level engineering approach helps recycling operators improve throughput, equipment reliability and operational consistency.

The recognition reinforces Fornnax’s commitment to developing engineering technologies that contribute to a more efficient and circular recycling ecosystem.

Looking ahead, the company aims to expand its international presence while continuing to develop advanced shredding and recycling solutions to address the growing volumes and evolving requirements of the global recycling industry.

For more information, visit: www.fornnax.com