January-March 2009

Vol. 22, No. 1 January-March 2009

L&T Delivers HD785 Dump Trucks to SECL

On 19th February 2009, the coal town of Gevra in Madhya Pradesh woke up to the rumbles from the giant off-highway trucks. The occasion was

the handing over of 9 units of HD785 Komatsu Rear Dump Trucks to M/s. South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) by L&T’s Construction & Mining Equipment Business Unit.

At a function held at SECL’s project-site, this new batch of trucks was formally handed over to Mr. M.P. Dikshit, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, SECL, by Mr. Dipankar Banerjee, Head, Mining Equipment Business, L&T. Among others who participated in the event included Mr. J.S.Prasad, Chief General Manager, SECL, Gevra Area; Mr. J. Srivastava, General Manager (Excavation), SECL and Mr. Masaaki Matsuura, General Manager, Komatsu India Private Limited.

This supply forms part of SECL’s order for 25 Dump Trucks, of which, 19 Nos. are for Gevra Project and 6 Nos. for Kusmunda Project. Incidentally, Gevra houses

Mr. M. P. Dikshit, CMD, SECL (fourth from right) receiving a model of HD785 Dump Truck from Mr. Masaaki Matsuura, General Manager, Komatsu India Private Limited at the handing over ceremony of HD785 Dump Trucks at Gevra Project site. Senior executives from L&T and SECL are also seen.

the largest opencast coal mines in Asia and the second largest in the world. The coal output of Gevra was 29 Million Tons in the financial year 2007–08 and is targeted at 31 Million Tons in 2008-09.

SECL is one of the profitable subsidiaries of the

L&T Earthmover News – January-March 20092

7000th PC200-6 Hydraulic Excavator Rolled Out

PC71 & PC130 Enter Obra Stone Quarry

L&T’s Construction & Mining Equipment Business Unit (CMB) achieved a new milestone with the roll

out of the 7000th L&T-Komatsu PC200-6 Hydraulic Excavator.

At the special event held on 27th January 2009 at L&T-Komatsu’s Bangalore Works, the machine key was handed over to Mr. Mahendra Agarwal, Proprietor, M/s. Shree Balaji Borewells by Mr. S.R. Subramanian, Chief Executive, L&T-Komatsu Limited. Mr. S.K. Mittra, Executive Vice-President, Construction & Mining Equipment Business Unit, L&T, handed over a plaque to the esteemed customer.

Shree Balaji Borewells is based in Bhopal and engaged in road projects in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh.

public sector, M/s. Coal India Limited, and having coal production of 93.79 Million Tons in 2007-08. The expected coal production for 2008-09 is 101 Million Tons. SECL is on a major expansion and modernization drive to meet the demand-supply gap in coal.

The handing over of this batch of Komatsu Dumpers marked a new beginning in L&T’s relationship with SECL. These mining trucks manufactured by M/s. Komatsu India Private Limited at its Chennai Plant, are being provided with after-sales support by L&T.

L&T has made a breakthrough in the quarry town of Obra, situated in Sonebhadra District of Uttar

Pradesh by supplying L&T-Komatsu Hydraulic Excavator, Models PC71 and PC130-7. The town is rich in natural resources like limestone and blue metal. Over 30 quarries serving 150 stone crusher units are found here. New power projects are the key growth drivers of Obra, which is also witnessing road expansion and building construction in a big way.

Presently, the mining activity is manual and a few mines have deployed excavators. With the mining activity

getting deeper and due to increased labour problems, customers are deploying excavators of 7 Ton & 10 Ton class. M/s.Laxman Prasad & Tarkeshwar Prasad and M/s. Swastik Enterprises, which were hitherto engaged in manual mining, have felt the need to increase production and deployed hydraulic excavators.

On the occasion of the delivery of the first L&T-Komatsu PC71 and L&T-Komatsu PC130-7 Hydraulic Excavators in Obra, the customers were presented mementos by personnel from L&T’s Lucknow Office and the Dealer, M/s.Chintamani Enserve Pvt Ltd (CEPL).

Mementos being handed over to (at left) Mr. Sanjay Kumar Rai, Partner, M/s. Swastik Enterprises and (at right) to Mr.Laxman Prasad, Mr.Rajesh Keshri, Partner, Mr.J.P.Keshri, Partner and Mr. Tarkeshwar Prasad by Mr.Amit Kumar, L&T, Lucknow, Mr.Sanjay Shirodkar and

Mr.Chandresh Pathak,CEPL.

Mr. Mahendra Agarwal of M/s. Balaji Borewells, receiving the plaque from Mr. S.K.Mittra, Executive Vice-President, Construction & Mining

Equipment Business, L&T. Also seen (L-R) Mr. S.R. Subramanian, Chief Executive, L&T-Komatsu Limited, Mr. S. Ueno,

Managing Director, Komatsu India Pvt. Ltd. and Mr. A.K. Garg, General Manager - Construction Equipment Business, L&T.

In Fo

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L&T Earthmover News – January-March 2009 3

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Not

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Meet Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, the leading contractor from Nellore, and not to be mistaken for his popular namesake in politics. As Chairman of

M/s. Medikonda Constructions Private Limited (MCPL), Mr. Naidu is executing a landmark project for L&T’s Engineering & Construction Division, for the first time in India, involving construction of pre-heated and insulated oil and gas pipeline in the western region.

The entire contract is handled by the British multinational M/s. Cairn India Limited and it involves carrying crude oil and gas by separate pipelines from Mangala Onshore Terminal and Raageshwari Gas Field, respectively (Barmer/Rajasthan) to Salaya Export Terminal (Jamnagar/Gujarat). Mundra-based M/s. Jindal Saw Pipes are supplying the 24-inch dia pipes with PUF insulation for carrying crude oil and 8-inch dia pipes running alongside for the gas supply. Of the total pipelength of 600 km, MCPL is constructing the 362-km long pipeline, mostly spanning in Gujarat.

The end-to-end solution for this project is extended by MCPL covering elaborate route survey, stringing, welding, x-ray processing, blasting, painting, long-sleeve cladding, cable pulling, injection, trenching, and lowering the pipes and backfilling. This is the first of its kind in India and involves intermediate heating arrangement enroute to ensure continuous flow of oil and gas even in sub-zero conditions. India’s domestic crude production is likely to go up by 25 percent, once these onshore oil wells in Rajasthan are fully operational.

“I am euphoric of the project and the activities are hectic,” says the 61-year-old Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, who exhibits infectious energy and has been camping at Virangam enroute for the last six months. He drives us through the workspot spread over a vast area in the summer heat and the rising dust. A complement of PC200-6 Hydraulic Excavators was busy making trenches even as some welders were working on the pipes. “I purchased the first PC200 Hydraulic Excavator in 1999 for Jaipur-Loni Pipeline Project,” reveals Mr. Naidu, who developed an instant liking for it.

In the early years of his life, Mr. Naidu was drawn to politics and influenced by the leader Mrs. Indira Gandhi. Though he was a Congress loyalist, he could

not make it into mainstream politics. His father was a registered CPWD contractor who handled civil works for post and telegraph departments. Soon after PUC, Mr. Naidu got into his father’s business. He also enrolled for AMIE course. He says, “I got trained extensively in estimating, billing and understanding the demands of the job. I registered my name in 1978 and started with warehouse construction for Food Corporation of India in Chittoor. I also handled the Kakatiya canal at Ramagundam”.

Mr. Naidu is a hard taskmaster. He is on the move, covers

Mr. M. Venkaiah Naidu, Chairman, M/s. Medikonda Constructions Pvt. Ltd.

L&T-Komatsu PC200 Hydraulic Excavator engaged in trenching operation for the pipeline project in Gujarat.


Mr. Veerraju - an Icon of AP Quarrying Industry

the breadth of activity and monitors the trench works as well as pipeline infrastructure in detail. His team comprises skilled workforce, welding specialists and local manpower all add up to 800 people. His site office is a one-stop shop with materials, machinery and consumables. “Strict quality stipulations of both material and methods at site make the job tough and challenging,” he adds.

MCPL has effectively utilized the PC200 machines to handle many tough assignments in the past like the breakwater enlargement of Operation Seabird at Karwar in collaboration with M/s. Hochtief, Germany, which was a very tricky and difficult job. “We also worked on laying Kandla-Bhatinda/ Visakhapatnam-Vijayawada/ Jaipur-Loni pipeline projects, construction of warehouses for M/s. Reliance Industries Limited at Hazira and earthwork for M/s. Hyundai Industries Limited in Sriperumbudur. These assignments have enabled us gain a strong understanding of different projects,” says Mr. Naidu.

It is L&T-driven projects which drive Mr. Naidu too. “I have immense faith in L&T management and prefer to work with them anywhere,” quips Mr. Naidu, who has been associated with L&T projects for two decades. In fact, he even took up an assignment overseas from L&T (ECC) in Tanzania for pipelaying operations. The task was arduous involving shipping the excavators to Dar-es-Salam and trenching the route there for laying the huge pipes in deep forest area and inhospitable terrain. The job entailed six months and the route was 220 km long. “We used a combination of 15 nos PC200

Hydraulic Excavators along with 2 units each of L&T 72 and Motor Graders to complete the assignment,” remarks Mr. M. Padmamohan, Managing Director, MCPL and the son of Mr. Naidu. “The support from L&T in terms of machine availability and post-sales activity was very satisfying”, he adds.

Both the father and son are highly impressed by L&T dealer M/s. Deccan Earthmovers from Ahmedabad who is extending service back-up now. They have especially all praise for the site engineer Mr. Krunal Sukhadia who keeps the fleet working at all times. His dedicated focus is seen in the advance action for the procurement of parts and the fast-track methods in diagnosing machine

breakdown.

When it comes to machine replacement, MCPL follows a different policy altogether. “We purchase machines for a specific project depending on its timelines and the volume of work. Once the project is complete, the machines are disposed off locally in the secondary market,” says Mr. Padmamohan. This helps in

tax planning and gets to save from managing huge fleets during lean period. MCPL also does not go into hiring of machines.

On MCPL’s future, Mr. Padmamohan says, “As GSPL & IOC approved contractors, our plan is to stay focused on pipeline infrastructure. We are looking at upcoming pipeline projects like Kakinada-Chennai, Kakinada-Vizag, Mundra-Bhatinda, for fresh challenges.” Both Mr. Naidu and Mr. Padmamohan are proud that L&T (ECC/E&C) prefers to select them as partners for their projects.

The ‘blue metal’ shines intensely in the morning sun from the depths of the massive quarries off Rajahmundry, the bustling town situated next to

the revered Godavari river in Andhra Pradesh. Welcoming us to his quarry is the industrialist Mr. Cherukuri Veerraju, often referred to as the icon of quarrying industry in Coastal Andhra. Clad in spotless white kurta and dhoti, he exhibits unbeatable energy and coordinates between blasting, mining and crusher units in rapid action.

Starting with a modest transport business, this veteran moved over to quarrying realizing its growth

potential and long-term prospects. Since then, he has admirably worked his way to the top and met with enormous success in the last four decades. His firm, M/s. Cherukuri Veerraju & Co. has been a pioneer in undertaking railway contracts and is a major ballast supplier to South Central Railway and South Western Railway. Today, Mr. Veerraju is ably supported in his work by his son, Mr. Krishnaji and son-in-law Mr. A. Muni Koteswara Rao.

In the early sixties, Mr. Veerraju stepped into this industry when the quarries were manually operated

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Not

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Mr. Padmamohan, MD, MCPL


and highly labour intensive. He spent several months in the blazing sun exploiting the quarry and meeting the market requirements for the blue metal. With the eighties heralding mechanization in the quarries, Mr. Veerraju was the earliest to spot opportunity and introduced machines in the Rajahmundry area. Since then, he has switched over to modern methods of operations. Today his quarries are well developed with excavators and crushers in place, which keep the mines working to full capacity.

“We make sure that the machines are maintained well and perform to the fullest capacity irrespective of their age”, says Mr Krishnaji, who looks after the major portfolio of quarries in the Rajahmundry area. He monitors the movement of gravel from the crushers to the customer sites and addresses issues relating to mining regulations.

The first machine, a competitor excavator, was inducted in 1987 alongwith tippers which continued for almost a decade, when problems cropped up. “We evaluated the performance parameters and realized that the machines could not deliver as per the expectations.” It was then that Mr. Koteswara Rao held intensive discussions with L&T, Vijayawada team. He took a conscious decision to induct L&T’s workhorse – L&T-Komatsu PC200 Hydraulic Excavator. His conviction paid off and he added a few more of the same model. “They are very efficient and hassle-free, and their productivity is notewor thy,” he expresses. He is especially happy with the solid support he gets from L&T team for service and parts.

Mr. Koteswara Rao takes care of the group’s business which has grown tremendously outside Rajahmundry. Beginning with the year 2002-03, M/s. Cherukuri Veerraju & Co have expanded business beyond Andhra Pradesh with the acquiring of new quarries in strategic locations. These are at Raichur, Kadur, Londa and Jhansi besides West Godavari. High-capacity crushers have been installed at all quarries to produce the shining ‘blue metal’.

This increased production of the ‘blue metal’ takes care of the ballast requirements for the ongoing gauge conversion activity and putting up new railway lines, besides outer ring roads and highway projects coming up

in various parts of the country. Currently, Mr. Rao owns 11 nos. L&T-Komatsu PC200-6 machines and has deployed them in these new locations. “I have no issues with L&T. I am happy to have joined the L&T family”, he declares cheerfully.

Incidentally, disci-pline is the buzzword in M/s. Ch. Veerraju & Co.’s business. Mr. Koteswara Rao is also a meticulous planner, who is up early in the morning, works at the gymnasium and raring to go. He keeps a check on the outstation mines and monitors the health of the machines. He maintains an active portfolio of spare parts at various sites for faster redemption.

Presently, he is working closely with M/s. Gayatri Projects, one of the leading contractors of Andhra Pradesh, which is implementing the Polavaram Right Canal Project. The work involves canal lining (a combination of aggregate and cement) in inclined shape running all along the length of the canal and acts as a retainer preventing water absorption, besides

construction of underground tunnels. The project is of national importance and involves diverting the waters from the Godavari to the Krishna through a link canal with multiple benefits of drinking water to wayside villages, irrigating large tracts of arable land and in setting up mini-hydel stations.

M/s. Ch. Veerraju & Co. have developed a unique business practice, which has allowed the firm to include a number of old acquaintances as faithful partners in this flourishing business. These partners are attached to various quarries and handle them with total dedication.

Mr. Ch. Veerraju, Chairman, M/s. Cherukuri Veerraju & Co.

Mr. Koteswara Rao (L) and Mr. Krishnaji


For the benefit of customers of Construction & Mining Equipment Business Unit (CMB), Training Programmes offered by L&T, have been scheduled in Bangalore and other Service Centres. Table below gives the Training Schedule for the period July 2009-February 2010

CMB TRAINING CALENDAR 2009-10

Key for Course Fee:

Special programme for Managers / Executives : Rs. 2,500/-Programme for Maintenance Staff : Rs. 2,000/-

Programme for Operators & Mechanics : Rs. 1,000/-

Kom : KOMATSUB’lore : Bangalore

S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S

May 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

1/PC200-6/B’lore Maintenance Staff


2/PC-300-7/ Cuddapah Operators/Mechanics

4/PC130-7/PC200-6/ Chandigarh

Operators/Mechanics

5/PC200-6/PC300-7/ Mysore

Operators/Mechanics

June 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

6/L&T300 Trouble-shooting/B’lore Maintenance Staff



7/PC71 / Hubli Operators/Mechanics

8/D65 / Singrauli Operators/Mechanics

9/PC200-6/PC300-7/ Udaipur

Operators/Mechanics

12/PC200-6/ Raipur Operators/Mechanics

13/PC210-8/ Jamshedpur

Operators/MechanicsJuly 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31


15/Kom.Grader/B’lore Maintenance Staff

18/Excavator Hyd Systems/B’loreExecutives/Managers

20/PC600/1250-7/B’lore Maintenance Staff

16/PC200-6/PC300-7/ Barbil

Operators/Mechanics

17/PC-300-7/ Indore Operators/Mechanics

19/Scania P380 Tipper truck/B’lore Maintenance Staff

21/PC-450-7/ Jamshedpur Operators/Mechanics

August 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

22/L&T300CKE /B’lore Maintenance Staff


29/Kom.Machine Electricals/B’lore Maintenance Staff

23/PC130-7/PC200-6/ Delhi Operators/Mechanics

24/PC200-6/Burdwan Operators/Mechanics

26/PC130-7/PC200-6/ Akola

Operators/Mechanics

27/PC200-6/PC300-7/ Hospet

Operators/Mechanics

28/PC200-6/ Mumbai

Operators/Mechanics

30/PC71 / Bhubaneshwar

Operators/Mechanics

31/PC200-6/PC300-7/Goa

Operators/MechanicsSeptember 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30



36/Kom. Wheel Loaders/B’lore Maintenance Staff


33/PC200-6/ Salem Operators/Mechanics

35/D275/GoaOperators/Mechanics

37/PC200-6/Pune Operators/Mechanics

39/PC200-6/KorbaOperators/Mechanics

October 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

40/L&T 72/90-3/B’lore Maintenance Staff

44/PC71/B’lore Maintenance Staff

41/PC200-6/ Chennai Operators/Mechanics

42/PC200-6/PC300-7 Jaipur

Operators/Mechanics

43/PC200-6/PC300-7/Udaipur

Operators/Mechanics

45/PC130-7/PC200-6/ SuratOperators/Mechanics

November 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28





48/PC200-6/PC300-7 Guwahati

Operators/Mechanics


52/PC300-7/Ongole

Operators/MechanicsDecember 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31



56/Kom. Dump Trucks/B’lore Maintenance Staff

55/PC200-6/ Madurai Operators/Mechanics

January 2010 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

57/Kom.Grader/B’loreMaintenance Staff

59/PC600/PC1250/B’lore Maintenance Staff


58/PC130-7/PC300-7/Kochi Operators/Mechanics


February 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28








May 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30





Operators/Mechanics


Operators/Mechanics

June 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30







Operators/Mechanics








16/PC200-6/PC300-7/ Barbil

Operators/Mechanics




August 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29






26/PC130-7/PC200-6/ Akola

Operators/Mechanics

27/PC200-6/PC300-7/ Hospet

Operators/Mechanics

28/PC200-6/ Mumbai

Operators/Mechanics


Operators/Mechanics

31/PC200-6/PC300-7/Goa










October 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31





Operators/Mechanics


Operators/Mechanics


November 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28






Operators/Mechanics


52/PC300-7/Ongole






January 2010 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30






February 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28








For the benefit of customers of Construction & Mining Equipment Business Unit (CMB), Training Programmes offered by L&T, have been scheduled in Bangalore and other Service Centres. Table below gives the Training Schedule for the period July 2009-February 2010

CMB TRAINING CALENDAR 2009-10

Programme for Operators & Mechanics : Rs. 1,000/-

Construction & Mining Equipment Business Unit


May 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30





Operators/Mechanics


Operators/Mechanics

June 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30







Operators/Mechanics








16/PC200-6/PC300-7/ Barbil

Operators/Mechanics




August 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29






26/PC130-7/PC200-6/ Akola

Operators/Mechanics

27/PC200-6/PC300-7/ Hospet

Operators/Mechanics

28/PC200-6/ Mumbai

Operators/Mechanics


Operators/Mechanics

31/PC200-6/PC300-7/Goa










October 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31





Operators/Mechanics


Operators/Mechanics


November 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28






Operators/Mechanics


52/PC300-7/Ongole






January 2010 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30






February 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28








May 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30





Operators/Mechanics


Operators/Mechanics

June 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30







Operators/Mechanics








16/PC200-6/PC300-7/ Barbil

Operators/Mechanics




August 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29






26/PC130-7/PC200-6/ Akola

Operators/Mechanics

27/PC200-6/PC300-7/ Hospet

Operators/Mechanics

28/PC200-6/ Mumbai

Operators/Mechanics


Operators/Mechanics

31/PC200-6/PC300-7/Goa










October 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31





Operators/Mechanics


Operators/Mechanics


November 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28






Operators/Mechanics


52/PC300-7/Ongole






January 2010 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30






February 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28








For the farmers of the drought-prone Rayalaseema area, Mr. S.P.Y. Reddy’s bold initiatives in life-saving irrigation have given new hope for the crops. His

efforts have brought in a gradual change amongst poor and marginal farmers by compulsive water harvesting and adopting modern practices in agriculture. Besides being a farmer and social entrepreneur, Mr. Reddy dons other roles including that of the elected Member of Parliament from Nandyal Constituency and as the Chairman of M/s. Nandi Group of Companies.

“I have made the farmers realize the true value of water. Today, all of us are focused on life-saving irrigation practices. Under this programme, we have completed sinking 10,000 borewells covering 1000 villages, says the towering Mr. Reddy, who operates from Basheerbagh in Hyderabad, which doubles up as MP’s office. It is typical to see several people, mostly humble farmers, line up outside his office to seek his intervention.

For years, Mr. Reddy has been spearheading the need for networking farmers. He has been talking to the Nandyal based farmers and helping them out with invaluable inputs on farm mechanization and high-yielding crops. He is also in continuous dialogue with the district authorities for desilting of old tanks and village ponds, which are good storehouses of water.

The story unfolds many summers ago, when as a school boy Mr. Reddy witnessed the crops wither away in the arid heat of Rayalaseema. When the rains failed year after year, the little Reddy realized the importance of water. He dug up open channels to carry water from the wells to the farms, where they cultivated sweet-lime trees. Soon, the pumpsets arrived to augment the water supply. But the depleting ground water added to the woes.

He worked hard on his academics and secured a seat in Regional Engineering College, Warangal for B.E (Mech) course. Later, he entered the prestigious Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai for a career. But the ‘rytubidda’ preferred agriculture to a scientist career. It was difficult managing the cultivation given the inconsistent water supply and meagre crop. The scarce water continued to puzzle him even as he found out that a lot of water was percolating into the ground before reaching the fields.

In 1979, Mr. Reddy set up a small factory and used waste plastic to recycle into water pipes since cement pipes were expensive and used scarcely. The initiative took off and he saw the demand for pipes from agriculture sector growing. He established M/s. Nandi Pipes and M/s.Sujala Pipes to manufacture the PVC pipes in a big way. His networking skills proved handy as more farmers came forward to install the pipes to carry water to the farms from various sources like tubewells for irrigation.

“To lay the pipes underground, trenching was required. Most of them did not own the machines and labour

was not feasible. It was then I decided to start the rental concept”, says Mr. Reddy, who bought six L&T machines and popularized the practice of renting them for rapid and economical trenching. Whoever purchased 200 pipes or more, he offered the free trenching recovering only the diesel charges. He even started giving the pipes on hire for Re.1 per day for those who could not afford to buy them.

Today, Mr.Reddy owns 16 Nos. L&T-Komatsu PC71, 5 Nos. L&T-Komatsu PC200-6 and 3 Nos. L&T-Komatsu PC300LC-7 Hydraulic Excavators. “They are reliable machines and give me extremely good service. In fact, the maintenance costs are also less”, remarks Mr. Reddy who migrated to L&T from a competitor brand. The machines are spread across large areas to take care of the farmers’ requirements at a short notice. “I am glad that my operators are trained well and we have a team to take care of small repairs and routine maintenance. Plus your teams from L&T as well as the dealer are always helpful in giving us the knowledge input on replacement”, he adds.

Over the years, Mr. Reddy has expanded the pipes business with the opening of new factories at Bellary, Tirupati and Hyderabad, besides Nandyal and Anantapur. Thanks to his untiring efforts, Nandi is the foremost brand in PVC pipes and one of the largest in Asia today.

Mr. Reddy is not a man to rest on his laurels. His mind is continuously working on new ideas. He has set up a plant to extract alcohol from Maize, a skimming plant for dairy development and an old age home in Nandyal for the senior citizens. He has also taken over Panyam Cements. He is particularly touched by the poor man’s

Mr. S.P.Y. Reddy — Social Entrepreneur Par ExcellenceCu

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Mr. S.P.Y. Reddy, Chairman, Nandi Group


plight. His voice chokes with emotion when he says, “Poverty should be banished from this planet”.

More recently, Mr. Reddy has been working closely with an entrepreneur to promote solar-powered fencing for the farm boundary. This is in wake of the pre-harvest crops getting severely affected by the wild pig menace.

AKRCL Reaps Success in Irrigation Projects

“This initiative too has started showing results and very soon we may launch it in a big way”, he says. Accolades have come in for Mr. Reddy from opinion makers and industrialists alike, but it is the humble farmer who holds him close, like Mr. Venkatsubba Reddy from Velugodu village of Kurnool district who says, “He is our Apad Bandhava, our Dharmadhata”.

“Our biggest credo is the ability to deliver projects in time,” remarks an exuberant Mr. A. Krishna Reddy, Managing Director

of M/s. AKR Construction Limited (AKRCL). His statement is reflective of the enormous work, he has pursued with relentless passion, all the while to execute irrigation projects in both the states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

At AKRCL’s Corporate Office in the upscale Banjara Hills in Hyderabad, Mr. Reddy is often caught up with hectic schedule. He is busy thrashing out project costs, holding feasibility reviews and travelling to various sites. He is in constant touch with site teams to monitor project progress and machine performance. His major clients include Irrigation Dept., Government of Andhra Pradesh, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited and Karnataka Bhagya Jala Nigam Limited.

It all began in 1980, when Mr Krishna Reddy, like several young men, was attracted to the construction sector which showed good growth. He was a graduate from Nellore District and grew up in the fields growing paddy, cotton and coconuts. But with a dream to start something on his own, he got into undertaking small canal works. The initial years were difficult, for he spent several hours understanding the demands and fine-tuning the practices.

From canal works to railway infrastructure, he started working on the entire gamut of jobs. His portfolio of work soon grew to cover irrigation canals, distribution systems, spillways, barrages, reservoirs, tunnels besides railway bridges and real estate projects. From survey, design to actual construction, M/s. AKR Construction Limited now delivers end-to-end solutions with focus on irrigation sector. Today, the company combines experience and aggression to drive the projects to attain total customer satisfaction. In the process, it has set new standards in accomplishing targets.

“In the beginning, I used to own excavators of a different brand”, reveals Mr. Krishna Reddy. “ But I found them not good enough in hard strata, often leading to breakdowns. It is then, I switched over to a more rugged machine. Believe me L&T machines are really dependable. Of the

Mr. A. Krishna Reddy, CMD, AKRCL and (below) L&T-Komatsu PC300LC-7 Hydraulic Excavator working at an irrigation site


37 machines I own today, 33 are supplied by L&T. I no longer go for hired equipment, I prefer to buy my own machines,” he adds.

About 5 years ago, there was an upsurge in irrigation segment and this enabled AKRCL to move forward and consolidate its business plan. From a turnover of Rs. 5 Crore in 1997, the company grew to about Rs. 20 Crore in 2000. This year, AKRCL plans to make it Rs 200 Crore. Each year, close to 50 percent of the revenue comes from irrigation projects alone.

What challenges has AKRCL encountered on the field? “Typically, the land acquisition is the most difficult one. It often upsets our schedule, moving into long-drawn process, but we have managed well, thanks to our team members. The department approvals for design efficacy to be obtained periodically and the management of the local community are also key factors,” says Mr. Reddy.

Over the years, AKRCL has developed an expert team of irrigation engineers inhouse, who provide a strong base of civil engineering and project detailing. The site activities are supported by the online parts booking and despatch from Headquarters. Monitoring the machines’ performance and reviewing parts inventory is done on daily basis. The project sites are staffed by mechanical engineers, who implement maintenance practices.

“One of the ambitious projects done in recent times is that of Sriram Sagar Project, where we had to excavate 80 lakh CuM hard strata to build distribution system/canals. I used a combination of 20 machines which include PC300, PC200 & PC130 Hydraulic Excavators and finished the work in one year time schedule,” says Mr. Krishna Reddy.

Working in tandem is his son, Mr. Sashikumar Reddy, Executive Director. He says, “The ISO 9001-2000 certification is a proof of our process-driven quality structure. Our workforce of over 4000 employees exhibits skill and diverse knowledge to achieve the customer delight.” AKRCL’s continued emphasis on employee development gives ample opportunity to realize their true potential.

Some of the challenging jobs accomplished by AKRCL include the construction of barrage on the Pennar river in Nellore district with electrically operated hoists, excavation of gravity canal and embankment construction on the Pranahita river in Adilabad district, undertaking of Dummugudem canal system, construction of low-level canal in Nalgonda district and construction of Upper Krishna Project in Karnataka.

Mining Equipment Business – Training Calendar

Mr. Sashikumar Reddy

Programme Schedule

Komatsu Dump Trucks

S.No. Programme Location Period

01 1/HD465 New Delhi 7-10 July 2009

02 2/HD465/HD785 Durgapur 10-13 Aug. 2009

03 3/HD465/HD785 Nagpur 3-6 Aug. 2009

04 4/HD465/HD785 Chennai 22-25 Sept. 2009

05 56/Komatsu Dumper Bangalore 15-18 Dec. 2009

Komatsu Dozers

S.No. Programme Location Period

01 5/D155/D275/D375/D475 New Delhi 22-25 Sept. 2009

02 6/D155/D275/D375/D475 Bangalore 6-9 Oct. 2009

Komatsu ExcavatorsS.No. Programme Location Period

01 20/PC600/PC800/PC1250/PC2000 Bangalore 28-31 July 2009

02 59/PC600/PC800/PC1250/PC2000 Bangalore 19-22 Jan. 2010

Komatsu Wheel LoadersS.No. Programme Location Period

01 36/Komatsu Wheel Loader Bangalore 15-18 Aug. 2009

02 46/Komatsu Wheel Loader Bangalore 3-6 Nov. 2009

Komatsu Motor GradersS.No. Programme Location Period

01 15//Komatsu Grader Bangalore 14-17 July 2009

02 57//Komatsu Grader Bangalore 5-8 Jan. 2010

Cust

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Mr. Vijay Kaza Enables ECI Redefine Benchmarks

It is the endearing combination of intelligent choice and hard work that has catapulted Mr. Vijay Kaza into the

league of new-age successful entrepreneurs. Five years back, this young engineer with a management degree from Golden Gate University gave up an established career with IBM in USA and returned home to join his dad Mr. Kaza Venkata Rao’s firm M/s. ECI Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. As Managing Director today, Mr. Vijay Kaza has a definitive role in the strategic affairs of the company and maps out its growth opportunities. He is highly articulate and minces no words when it comes to procedural delays and operational glitches in implementing projects.

For ECI, infrastructure has been the mainstay of business. In the last three decades, the firm has built many landmarks in roads, railways, reservoirs, bridges, power and industrial projects across India. ECI’s capabilities have been demonstrated in specialized civil and electrical engineering and its track record of projects in industrial sector and infrastructure applications have come in for high appreciation.

“We have synergy in road and rail projects”, remarks an ebullient Mr. Vijay Kaza in his plush office in Jubilee Hills. “We have worked on some of the toughest projects in hostile conditions in the North East which include building a bridge over the Donai river in Assam and construction of major bridges from Lumding to Agartala under Northeast Frontier Railway. Another project we had to slog out was 4-laning of highway in Jharkand where our team had to brave Naxal attacks,” adds Mr. Vijay Kaza.

Besides consolidating on business, Mr. Vijay Kaza has been the driving force in the organization setting higher benchmarks in individual performance, improving delivery mechanism, maintaining design standards and defining the geographical requirements for each project. He is extremely careful while answering tender queries and evaluates thoroughly before acceptance of new projects.

Has the attrition in the industry affected him? “Initially, we lost a lot of people. But now we have understood the demands of the industry. We have devised a unique compensation package and skill enhancement programme that makes sure that every individual is taken care of in terms of job challenge and satisfaction,” adds Mr. Vijay Kaza. In fact, one of the successful experiments

he has started refers to the job rotation in the organization, where individuals with multi-talents are trained for multi-functional experience and groomed to occupy higher positions.

ECI has taken up a project providing end-to-end solution for Rail Vikas Nigam Limited which include civil works, tracking and signal engineering in Bhubaneswar. This project has been challenging often involving the company in land acquisition process and rehabilitation of the displaced populace.

Today, ECI is concentrating in a big way on power projects and setting up of transmission lines and sub-stations on fast track basis.

They have just finished setting up 36 mw power project in the arduous forests of Orissa. Other projects completed include Outer Ring Road Project for Mysore City, Koraput-Rayagada Railway line for South Eastern Railway, Owk Reservoir Complex for AP Irrigation Dept.

Unlike other companies, ECI took a different route to infuse Rs. 100 Crore private equity into the company to take care of its ambitious growth and expansion plans. The company has been consistently adopting the ISO standards to maintain world class quality standards in projects. ECI’s requisite expertise enables it to undertake EPC contracts with single-source responsibility. EPC assignments are executed using state-of-the-art design tools and project management techniques.

“When I took a look at the Indian market for machines, I realized there were many options including the newly-arrived Chinese brands. It was then I had to make a crucial decision. L&T machines are certainly way ahead with dependable service, parts availability and an active dealer network. Plus the performance of the machines was above par,” says Mr. Vijay Kaza who owns a big fleet of L&T supplied machines and has successfully deployed them for many projects all over India.

He also finds the relationship with the company rewarding, when the L&T personnel call on him to finalize new deals or track the health of the machines. “I also find that the local manpower has higher exposure to L&T machines which makes life a lot better,” adds Mr. Vijay Kaza who has contingency plans in place to tackle any machine breakdown. When it comes to selection of operators who are the key to machine’s productivity, ECI shows more concern. “As long as I am happy with the L&T machines’ productivity, you continue to get orders”, he says and gets up with a smile.

Mr. Vijay Kaza, MD, M/s. ECI Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd.


Applying side load with the chisel when breaking means that excessive load is applied to the chisel from the side, and this may cause breakage of the chisel. If the object does not break, change the position.

Moving the boom up and down to carry out breaking work means that a strong impact force is applied to the boom, arm and chassis. In addition, strong impact is also applied to the inside of the breaker and this has adverse effect, so use the breaking force of the breaker when carrying out breaking work.

Moving the chisel while impacting reduces the efficiency of the breaking work and also means that the chisel is always sliding, so the wear of the chisel is increased.

If continuous impact is applied to the same impact surface, and it does not break within one minute, increase the efficiency of the breaking by moving the impact surface closer to the edge to make breaking easier.

During impact operations, the direction of penetration of chisel and the direction of the breaker diverge gradually, so the operating efficiency can be maintained if the bucket cylinder angle is adjusted to ensure that the chisel is always

perpendicular to the object being broken.

Always keep the chisel perpendicular to the impact surface. This ensures that all the breaking forces are applied to the object being broken and increases the breaking effect. If impact work is carried out when the chisel is not perpendicular, a side load is brought to bear on the chisel and this may cause wear inside the breaker.

Printed by Sri Sudhindra Offset Process, No. 27, 8th Cross, Malleswaram, Bangalore-3. Phone : 23368339, 23364798 Email: [email protected] by C.K. Sathish for Construction & Mining Equipment Business Unit, Larsen & Toubro Limited, Bangalore. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the management of Larsen & Toubro Limited. The contents of this magazine should not be reproduced without the written permis-sion of the Editor. For further information please contact: Larsen & Toubro Limited, 10/1, Palace Road, First Floor, Lakshminarayan Complex, Bangalore 560 052. Telephone: 080-40401700, Fax: 080-22250309. Email: [email protected] Not for sale – only for circulation among the customers of L&T’s Construction & Mining Equipment Business Unit.

Editorial Co-ordinators: Giridhar G., Suresh Bhat & V. Subhash, L&T, Bangalore

Oper

atio

n Tip

s(Contd. from last issue)

(Concluded)

Avoiding Pitfalls in Machine Operation – III

A p p l y i n g i m p a c t horizontally means that the hydraulic force of the work equipment and the weight of the machine cannot be used. The travel force of the machine is used to apply load to the impact surface for the breaking work, so

ineffective impacting becomes more common.

In addition, force is always applied to the rear of the machine, so impact load is applied to the travel motor and final drive. Except where necessary, always carry out breaking work perpendicularly and downwards. Furthermore, carry out work without going to the end of the stroke of the hydraulic cylinder.

Breaking (Recommendable Operation)To carry out breaking work efficiently, push the chisel against the impact surface and raise the front of the machine approx. 5 cm. This allows the weight of the machine to be always applied and removes any

problem of the breaker being operated without resistance, so it enables the breaking work to be carried out efficiently.

Do not raise the machine higher than necessary.

Prohibited Operation

Continuing to use the chisel when there is no resistance not only reduces the breaking efficiency, but means that the inside of the breaker hits directly, thereby adversely affecting the life of the breaker.

When carrying out operations in water, make sure that only the chisel is in the water.

If the water is deeper than this, use the special under-water specification breaker.

Courtesy: L&T Training Centre, Bangalore

January-March 2009

Documents

Transcript of January-March 2009