Tara Thapa: 'The success of our customers is directly linked to the quality of our products.'

At the recently concluded 6th Nepal Buildcon International Expo 2020, Dugar Brothers and Sons, the sole authorised distributors for Mahindra Construction Equipments in Nepal, showcased a wide range of products specifically tailored for the Nepalese construction industry. During the same, we had a chance to interact with Mr. Tara Thapa, Head-Operations, Construction Equipment at MV Dugar Group, to discuss the company’s strategy in the Nepalese market.  Please tell us the journey of Mahindra Construction Equipment in the Nepalese market.Mahindra Construction Equipment is known for its’ relentless efforts towards bringing in disruptive products that are relevant for the developing countries. Even though we entered this sector relatively late, we have been able to capture a significant market share.  Over the last 3 years, we have continuously strived to learn and understand our customer’s demands by offering them our world-class products and offering unmatched sales and service support. This speaks as a testimony of our efforts to bring innovation in the Construction Equipment space.

Our success lies in our exceptional product quality, unmatched technical expertise, and excellent aftersales service.

 How are these machines helping the customers?The success of our customers is directly linked to the quality of our products. Our backhoe loaders, excavators and graders are designed specifically for the sub-continent usage patterns. Our products offer an optimized solution and precisely cater to the customer’s needs.The G90 Roadmaster motor grader is powered by a 91 HP DiTEC engine developed by Mahindra which is coupled with a 3m (10ft) wide blade. Because it comes with a 10ft blade, the machine is easily operatable and maneuverable in our terrain.  This equipment is optimized to deliver zero compromise grading at a fractional 40% cost as compared to conventional motor graders. Similarly, some of the features of our VX-90 backhoe loader like joysticks with an excavator like hydraulics, advanced instrument cluster, fuel efficiency and performance are very innovative and customer-centric.

All in all, Mahindra Construction Equipments offers a unique and complete solution to its customers.

How do you fulfill the service requirements of the Nepalese customers?Our focus on R&D is paying off enormously – be it increasing the operational productivity by introducing innovative and new products or providing value-added after-sales services.  Not only our USP lies in the extensive product portfolio, but also in the excellent after-sales service. For the same, we have assigned one technician every 12 machines and established one branch every 35 kms to service the customers. Because we are confident in our products, we are the only company to provide a warranty of 2 years unlimited hours on the Roadmaster grader.How is the economic slowdown affecting the business? Although we are facing an economic slowdown, it has not directly affected our products because there is a great potential in the infrastructure industry in the next five years. We are strengthening our dealership network throughout the country to keep the products and service availability closer to our customers. This is the time to fill the gaps in our product offerings and cater to the needs of our customers.