Homegrown Indian mining equipment manufacturer, Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) exhibited in China for the first time at the recent 13th China Mining Congress & Expo in Tianjin. BEML was reported in Indian English-language paper The Hindu as stating that it hoped to help China’s mining industry meet its demand for mining equipment, and towards this end launched a number of high capacity machines at the show, including mining dozers and haul trucks, tailored to the Chinese market. However, the company is likely to face fierce competition from Caterpillar, Komatsu, Hitachi and others.

“With the increase in mining activity in China, there is a need to deploy higher capacity machines,” said CN Durgesh, BEML’s Director (Mining and Construction) and Board Member, adding: “In China, there is an increased demand for minerals. BEML offers a cost-effective solution to China’s needs.” Vijay Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Mines for India, said BEML’s launch in China was “a great opportunity” and part of a larger framework of closer cooperation in mining and mining-technology related subjects with China. “Both India and China are growing economies with increasing use of raw materials,” he said. China’s Vice Minister of Land and Resources Wang Min visited BEML’s display at the mining congress, and told Vijay Kumar in talks that he had personally supported the company’s entry into the China market, including helping with the often elaborate registration and clearance processes for heavy equipment. They had both agreed that there was scope for collaborating on survey and mapping, and pelletisation was suggested as an area where Chinese technological knowhow could help India’s mining industry.

To date, BEML has mainly had success in its domestic market, most recently with a large order from Coal India announced in September 2011. The deal is with Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) and Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL), for supply of 100 t and 60 t class haul trucks. However, it has also announced deals for deliveries to Myanmar and Thailand this year. The Thailand order is for a fleet of 21 100 t haul trucks to lignite miner Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), with the Myanmar customer was not specified. In addition, the company is trying to develop business in Africa with the appointment of Ghana Heavy Equipment Ltd (GHEL) as its distributor.