AL and John Deree launch backhoe loader at Rs 23.59 lakh in TN

[camchennai]

Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland has entered the construction equipment business, along with American company John Deere, with the launch of the 435 backhoe loader. Priced at Rs 23.5 lakh (ex-Tamil Nadu), the backhoe loader is the first product to roll out of the 50:50 joint venture, Ashok Leyland John Deere Construction Equipment Company.

“The joint venture marks a marriage of experience with expertise, global vision with local relevance. The backhoe loader has been designed for the Indian market conditions and the requirements of Indian customers,” said Dr V. Sumantran, Chairman of the joint venture company. Around Rs 200 crore has been invested in the first phase of the 435 backhoe loader.

Branding

The product will be sold under the ‘Leyland Deere' branding and manufactured at a Greenfield facility in Gummidipoondi, near Chennai. It addresses the critical considerations of lower operating cost, fuel economy and low maintenance and repair costs, said Mr Douglas Meyer, Director – Construction and Engineering, John Deere.

The 435 is powered by an Ashok Leyland engine from the H-series platform and promises features such as power shift transmission, large cabin space, higher visibility, higher breakout forces and greater dig depths.

The product will be initially launched in the southern states, before being rolled out nationally. The company has tied up with partners such as TVS Logistics for distribution. “For now we will focus only on the domestic market,” said Dr Sumantran.

More products

Two more products are being developed by the joint venture company. The second product from the joint venture – a wheel loader – will be rolled out in 2013. Mr P. Ravi Shankar, CEO, Ashok Leyland John Deere Construction Equipment Company said the company is looking at a capacity of 10,000 units by 2016-17, across the three product categories – the backhoe will account for 8800 units.

The backhoe category in the country is at 20,000 units a year, growing at 30-35 per cent. JCB is the market leader in this segment with a 75 per cent share.

Source - The Hindu

[silversteed]

Finally the JV sees light! Until last year, it was Tata Motors' subsidiary Telco Construction Equipments that used to supply the engines and transmissions to John Deere, and it's backhoe loaders were branded Tata-John Deere.

[camchennai]

TVS and Sons inaugurates Leyland Deere dealership in Chennai

T V Sundram Iyengar & Sons Ltd., (TVS & Sons) the largest automobile distribution company in India, has announced the inauguration of its State-of-the-art 3S (Sales, Service and Spares) facility for Leyland Deere Construction equipment products in Chennai.

Leyland Deere’s ‘435 Backhoe Loader’, which was launched recently, will be sold through this dealership. The Dealership is the 1st facility in Chennai and will also act as a regional head office for Leyland Deere dealership business for TVS & Sons.

The inauguration also marks 8th such facility in Tamilnadu and overall 12th for TVS & Sons, who is the authorized dealers for Leyland Deere Construction equipment products for Tamilnadu and Kerala market.

The new facility was inaugurated by P. Ravishankar, CEO, Leyland Deere and Kathipara Janarthanan, President, Tamil Nadu Earthmoving Equipment Owners Association in the presence of N. Krishnamoorthy President, TVS & Sons.

The Dealership facility is spread across in a massive 10,000 sq. ft. of land, and is strategically located on the Chennai-Bengaluru National Highway, Varadharajapuram (Next to Panimalar College), Chennai 600 123 which is the hub for Construction Equipment.

The showroom which is very close to Poonamallee will have easy access to Customers. The dealership also has 1000 line items (Spare parts) readily available to cater to the needs of the Customers.

Says, N Krishnamoorthy, President, Dealership Line of Business, TVS & Sons, “In line with our business expansion activities, we are happy to dedicate this facility for Leyland Deere products in Chennai. With this inauguration, we have our facilities in all the key Tier I and Tier II cities of Tamilnadu and Kerala.

We hope to continue our best services in Sales and After Sales services to Leyland Deere Customers. By establishing such facilities, we at TVS & Sons, try to go beyond the normal onsite maintenance requirements of such machines because these facilities will be able to cater to the rehabilitation of these machines in future.”