JCB expects recovery in construction equipment market next year.

UK-based JC Bamford Excavators (JCB) expects Indian construction equipment market to move towards the path of recovery early next fiscal after months of slump.

The company, which recently inaugurated two factories here, said it was embarking on another phase of growth plans in India keeping in mind the long-term potential of the market.

'Industry as a whole declined over the past six months. Our decline was lower than that of industry but we see now that it will stabilise by the end of the year and we expect it to start growing once again by the first quarter of next fiscal,' JCB India MD & CEO, Vipin Sondhi said.

Bullish on the long-term growth aspects of India, JCB Group Chairman Lord Bamford said: 'We even kept investing in India during the slowdown and we will continue to keep investing.'

JCB has till date invested £ 250 million (over Rs. 2,420 crore) in India, including Rs. 500 crore on the new plants at Jaipur.

Commenting on the new factories, JCB Group CEO Graeme Macdonald said the inauguration of two factories in Jaipur is the beginning of another phase in JCB’s growth plans in India.

'It is only a matter of time before the current short-term concerns give way to the long-term growth,' he added.

JCB has already started producing components at one of the two factories and production of telescopic handlers and skid steer loaders would begin next year.

Besides Jaipur, JCB has three operational manufacturing facilities in India - one at Ballabgarh in Haryana and two at Pune in Maharashtra.


HBL