Shubha Madhukar

The Telco Construction Equipment Company has set gobal benchmarks in manufacturing heavy equipment for the construction, earthmoving and mining industries, while playing a significant role in realising India's infrastructure dreams

The term 'development' conjures up images of vibrant towns, contemporary buildings and well-connected roadways. Modern India is teeming with all these and Telco Construction Equipment Company (Telcon) has had a sizeable role to play in creating them. The company has been at the forefront of construction solutions and India has been using the company's hydraulic excavators, cranes, backhoe loaders, wheel loaders, vibratory compactors and other equipment in its rapidly growing construction, earthmoving and mining industries.

Ties to stay ahead
A significant step for Telcon came in December 2005, when Hitachi Construction Machinery Company (HCM) doubled its stake in Telcon from 20 per cent to 40 per cent. The move made it a 60:40 joint venture between Tata Motors and HCM, and reflected HCM's confidence in the growing Indian market and its mission to be part of the infrastructure development of the country.

HCM's participation has enabled Telcon to significantly improve its product offerings to its customers and evolve as a global manufacturing and design hub. Closer cooperation between HCM and Telcon will also add a new range of construction equipment to Telcon's existing portfolio of outstanding products in India.

ZAXIS series: Heralding new-age excavators
Since its launch in 2005, the Telcon ZAXIS series — the new-age excavator — has been winning customer appeal with its outstanding performance and has evoked enormous enthusiasm and interest. ZAXIS 450 LCH excavators are being used across the country in applications ranging from irrigation to coal overburden removal.

A lot of research and insight has gone into the development of the machine. Telcon leveraged its vast experience with excavation practices in India to incorporate innovations in the design, making the machine more productive and more durable in Indian conditions.

ZAXIS provides a blend of the latest technologies to yield high operating efficiency at lower costs. While in operation, an on-board information controller called the ICX records the key operational parameters for the machine and generates reports that can be downloaded to a mobile computer.

Giant backhoe: New chapter in mining operations in India
No less appealing is the backhoe excavator EX 2500-5 commissioned in September 2005 at Tata Steel's West Bokaro collieries. It is the largest excavator in its category in India with a bucket capacity of 15 cubic metres. With this, Telcon boasts the largest installed base of six ultra-large mining machines in the country.

Commissioning such a large machine was a challenge in itself. Armed with finely-honed skills and experience, Telcon service engineers followed a detailed plan to assemble the mammoth machine with clinical precision. When the first giant scoop was dug out, it was a defining moment for Telcon and its team.

Convinced of its high productivity, Tata Steel has added a third EX2500-5 to its existing fleet. Many more units are on order for delivery over the next two years, and to support the growing fleet is a committed team of Telcon engineers stationed at West Bokaro.

With the growing popularity of their excavators, Telcon and Hitachi are redefining mining in India.

Uploaded on July 20, 2006