Growing need for testing winches and compressors

Previously, when tower erection happened through tractors, the casualty rate was high. Using winches for tower erection has brought down the casualty rate.

Yougesh Ranjan Gupta, Partner, BMC Power Co., talks about developing the winches and compressors market in India and the new products being introduced by the company. He also discusses the need for testing load and quality of winches and compressors so that better quality products can be introduced and used by the Indian industry

How do you view the market potential for winches and compressors for transformers?
Winches and compressors have a good scope in the market and we are the only manufacturers of mechanised winches in India. Previously, they used to be imported from China. So around two years ago, we began to manufacture it locally so that the market for these products can be developed and the Make in India initiative can be boosted.

What are the challenges that your company faces in the winches and compressors market?
We have limited clients which include transmission line companies, L&T, Tata Projects Limited, KEC International, and Kalpataru Power Transmission Limited. Also, we are not getting sufficient support from the national power grid. I had approached their officials several times to obtain certification for winches. However, they only published a notification that towers must be erected with winches and not tractors, without specifying or recommending the type of winch to be used. They must approve and recommend the type of winch for tower erection. Previously, when tower erection happened through tractors, the casualty rate was high. Using winches for tower erection has brought down the casualty rate.

Another challenge is that there is no testing laboratory in India. Hence, we have developed our own test bench to test load and quality. It is like a mini crane that lifts up a load of up to five tonnes.

What are your product plans for this year?
Our recent launch includes mechanised winches for five-tonne tower erection for high-tension wires. We are also planning to launch a conductor crimping machine with HAWE Hydraulik from Germany. Conductor crimping machines of good quality are not currently manufactured in India. They are being imported from Italy or Germany and are very costly. We are planning to sell our machines that are cost-efficient as well as water-efficient at half the price. HAWE Hydraulik has developed two prototypes of this machine for us. We will test this machine for 2-3 months and if it is up to the mark, we will launch it in the market along with our winches. My aim is to introduce more such products that are not easily available in India and do not have much volume or investment here.