Tata Hitachi also does a lot of CSR activities through our operator training centres. Singh explains: "What we have seen is that there are many young people who have passed out their 8th standard or 10th standard but do not have any jobs. On the other hand, we also have many customers who have machines but do not have enough operators. So we are providing training to the unemployed youth and also providing them an opportunity to get a job with our customers. For this, we have also tied up with government agencies and charitable organisations who are dealing with unemployed youth." The idea is to bridge the gap. On an average, Tata Hitachi is training about 300 operators every year.
Manufacturing strength
At present, Tata Hitachi operates three manufacturing plants one each at Jamshedpur - Jharkhand, Dharwad - Karnataka, and Kharagpur - West Bengal. "While we have three plants, mainly our production is happening at Dharwad and Kharagpur. Our Jamshedpur plant is supplying components to us. We are also producing some machines in Jamshedpur but in terms of volume it is not much. In terms of overall production, Dharwad is about 60 percent, Kharagpur is about 35 percent and Jamshedpur is five percent. The Kharagpur Plant is Tata Hitachi's latest facility started in 2010 and it is spread over 250 acres. "This state of the art facility is one of the biggest excavator plants in South East Asia. It is also a very energy efficient plant and incorporates many Green features," Singh informs.
He says that the machines manufactured in these plants are equally Green and they meet all the required government regulations in India. "In fact the quality of our machines produced in India is the same as the machines produced in Japan. We are also exporting our machines from Kharagpur to the Middle East and some African Countries. We are also exporting to neighbouring countries Nepal and Bangladesh. Soon we will also be looking at the Sri Lanka market. We export only about 250 machines; our main focus is on the domestic market. But in the coming years it will be a big thrust because we are building capacity and quality in terms of exporting the machines," he says.
Looking back
The journey from August 2015 till now has been an excellent one, says Singh. "Well, I have worked in the construction equipment industry before and have also spent substantial time in the automobile industry but this is the company where I have got the platform to use my learning and experience. This Company was not doing too well and we turned it around. It was looking to change according to the needs of the market and also to grow. And we have achieved that. Thanks to a wonderful team that I have been working with. So the journey has been very exciting and the overall experience has been fruitful and satisfactory," he shares.
Looking ahead
Singh believes that with the importance given to the infrastructure development in the country, this industry is going through an exciting time. "Our focus is to provide the right solution to the customer by which he can improve his productivity." In terms of expanding its offering, Tata Hitachi will also be looking to make an impact in the wheeled equipment segment going ahead. "Our strength has been in tracked excavators. We are not doing too well in wheeled equipment, where we used to have good presence in the past and we lost it. But we are getting back in that segment now. You will see that in the next two to three years time Tata Hitachi will be playing a very important role in wheeled equipment. We are continuously working and improving our products to make it happen," he shares.
