CNH is aiming to build new production facilities in India and Brazil for its New Holland Construction and Case Construction Equipment brands. Mario Gasparri, head of the CNH Construction Equipment business for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, said the ambitious moves were based on how CNH sees the evolution of the construction equipment market.
Mario Gasparri, head of the CNH Construction Equipment business for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, said the ambitious moves were based on how CNH sees the evolution of the construction equipment market.
The new India production facility, which will be CNH’s second in the country, will manufacture only Case machines. The final go-ahead for the plant is expected before the end of the year and it is hoped to become operational in 2016. The Group’s fourth production base in Brazil is due for completion a year earlier.
“The facility that we have today [in India] is fully dedicated to backhoe loaders and compactors. Our plan is to enter in the heavy line, and some of the heavy equipment cannot be accommodated [at present]. It will probably manufacture wheeled loaders and excavators. It’s a plan we are looking to finalise this year,” said Gasparri.
“In Brazil, we are really experiencing an issue with capacity [at current plants]. Especially with the peaks in season, it is difficult to meet requirements.”
The significant development of New Holland and Case heavy machine lines in recent years had, said Gasparri, paved the way for the brands to consider new models for mining applications. He believes these could be available to customers in around five years.
“In the heavy line, we introduced last year a new range of wheeled loaders, and at the beginning of this year we introduced the new range of wheeled excavators. This is a product mainly focused to the European market. On the wheeled loaders, we have come back to take a [sales] position we had lost for three or four years.”
Gasparri gave an example from the current bauma 2013 show of the brands’ wheeled loaders renaissance, “A large wheeled loader customer who bought Case machines commented that there was major productivity and fuel efficiency gain from the new models. He calculated that he would save £18,000 a year [per machine] compared to some of the other makes.”
Of New Holland and Case’s current best-selling machines, Gasparri said this varied according to sales region. “In the Americas, and even in Europe, we are normally identified with backhoe loaders and skid steer loaders. Sales are going up because of the growth in some of the key markets like Brazil and North America.”
Gasparri said both brands’ wheeled loaders were increasingly being bought and used by customers for recycling and waste handling applications.
Meanwhile, SCR exhaust after-treatment technology introduced on New Holland and Case machines had, according to Gasparri, been well received by the market.
On improving New Holland and Case’s machine offer, Gasparri said that a new compact wheeled loader for both brands was a priority.
“As we are gaining on the wheeled loader, on the compact side we have a product but it has been on the market for some time. It will be given a new design,” he said.
New Holland and Case have, said Gasparri, been investing in dealership support in North America, Brazil and South Korea. Additionally, branded New Holland and Case dealerships in key European cities, including Paris, Munich and Vienna, had been or were being created in a bid to improve local support for customers.
At bauma 2013, New Holland has launched the L230 skid steer loader and C238 compact track loader; three short radius crawler excavators: E230C SR, E260 SR and the E160C Blade Runner; the E75C SR and E85C MSR mid-size short radius excavators.
Case has unveiled a new three-model range of M Series dozers – 1150M, 1650M and the 2050M; and two midi-excavators – CX75 SR and the CX80C.
Stand: 5B. 307/406
Stand: F7. 713/3
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