You have recently taken charge as JCB India’s MD & CEO after serving as the COO. What are your first reactions?
I am delighted and overwhelmed. JCB India is special to me as I have been a part of its journey 2006 onwards when we had only one factory. Today, we have five factories in Pune, Jaipur and Delhi-NCR. The one in Delhi-NCR is the world’s largest for Backhoe Loaders. With a Sixth factory coming up in Vadodara, Gujarat, these factories are at par with the rest of the world. We operate on the philosophy of One-Global-Quality and are all bound by a great work ethic at JCB India.
JCB products are a way of life in India. Almost every infrastructure project in the country has a JCB machine working tirelessly, building a new India and also creating entrepreneurs. A lot has been achieved over the past four decades of our operations in India, but we also see a lot of expectations and opportunities ahead.
What do you think will be the key challenges for you and where do you see the opportunities to take the organisation ahead?
Compared to 2018 which was the best year ever for the industry, the year 2019 is witnessing some demand compression. The overall economic slowdown has been affecting the construction equipment sector as well.
Being an election year, some disruption was expected, however, what we have seen is a combination of a variety of factors, there has been a disruption to the cash cycle along with stress in the NBFC sector, which is adding to the slowdown for us.
However, in spite of the current scenario, the longterm vision looks positive. With the Government committed to building infrastructure, importantly in the Rural Economy, there will be opportunities for growth in the future.
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