Telcon, a 80:20 joint venture between Tata Engineering and Hitachi Construction Machinery Ltd. of Japan, has recently started manufacturing the Euclid-Hitachi 35-tonne capacity dump-trucks at its works here. Telcon is already making the capacity to become Euclid-Hitachi’s global manufacturing base for the 35-tonne capacity dump-truck which is also known as the EH-600 model.

Depending on the demand situation of this model, Telcon may take up the manufacture of the 60-tonne capacity dump-trucks too. The decision to shift the manufacturing of the EH-600 model from a partnership until in Polant to Telcon here was taken by the Canada-headquartered Euclid-Hitachi as a result of disruption of its partnership with the Polish firm which was earlier manufacturing the vehicles.

Euclid-Hitachi is a US-Japanese joint venture, with Hitachi having the majority stake. Dump trucks are off-highway vehicles, mainly used in mines and collieries.

"We are attempting to make 20 such vehicles this year," said
Mr. Ranaveer Sinha, managing director, Telcon. He, however, told FE that the worldwide demand of these huge vehicles is limited. The EH-600 model dump-truck would cost around Rs.60-70 lakh each. Euclid-Hitachi also manufactures higher capacity dump trucks like 60, 100, 150, 250 and 350-tonne capacity range at different manufacturing units around the world.

Telcon has already manufactured two pieces of the model. While one has been sent for testing in the US, "the other is being taken all over the country for rigorous trials".

"As demand picks up, we’ll go further, we may then take up manufacturing of the 60-tonne capacity units," said Mr. Sinha. Asked about the investment involved in making the EH-600 model here, the Telcon managing director said it was "negligible". While Volvo and Tata Engineering are already making 25-tonne capacity dump-trucks in the country, public sector BEML makes 35-tonne variety, while Caterpillar has a wide range of such vehicles, with Terex and Haulpak being some other manufacturers of dump-trucks.

The construction equipment manufacturer has assembly lines both here and in Dharwad (Karnataka). While orders for small capacity high-volume models of excavators and backhoe loaders are executed at Dharwad, the company’s assembly line inside Tata Engineering works here is used for high-capacity low-volume models.