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According to Mr. Vivek Hajela, Executive Vice President of L&T Construction & Mining Machinery, L&T places a strong emphasis on core values such as equity, transparency, accountability, responsibility, compliance, ethics, and trust. The company's product portfolio reflects its commitment to eco-friendly solutions, offering energy-efficient excavators and electrically powered machinery. L&T fosters an innovative and thriving employee culture. Furthermore, L&T actively engages with the community through philanthropy, healthcare, skill development, and education initiatives, making a positive impact on society.

What are the core values and mission of L&T, and how do they align with the company's products and services?

At Larsen & Toubro, our core values revolve around principles and ideals instilled by our founding fathers, which are based on equity, transparency, accountability, responsibility, compliance, ethics, and trust. In addition, L&T has committed to pursuing eco-friendly growth, promoting a culture of sustainability and innovation, thereby contributing to a better world.

L&T Construction & Mining Machinery, part of the highly successful Larsen & Toubro Group, is India's pioneer in introducing excavator technology. Over the years, L&T has nurtured business partnerships with global leaders such as Komatsu-Japan to offer products that conform to international quality, safety, and reliability standards.

Our core strength lies in decades of experience in understanding the Construction & Mining Machinery market in India, manufacturing and supporting energy-efficient new-generation machines, incorporating best-in-class sustainable technology, and delivering higher productivity. In fact, L&T continues its mission to provide world-class product support to its customers, ensure higher machine uptime, and offer a superior machine-owning experience.

Can you tell me about some of L&T's recent products and how they demonstrate its strengths and capabilities?

Komatsu and L&T are committed to introducing cutting-edge sustainable technologies to India in the construction and mining industry to improve productivity, reduce emission levels, and make the segment greener and cleaner. We have been continuously introducing new machines that consume less fuel, run on electricity or alternate fuels, and are much more advanced in technology, making construction and mining sustainable and greener.

For example, at bauma CONEXPO India 2023, Komatsu and L&T showcased their state-of-the-art technology with the Komatsu HB365LC-1 Hybrid Excavator, which is at least 20% more energy-efficient than conventional equipment and can mitigate carbon emissions. We also exhibited the Komatsu PC300LC-8 Hydraulic Excavator fitted with a Parallel Cabin and Orange Peel Grapple. It is ideally suited for car scrap handling, an industry set to grow multifold with the advent of the new automobile scrapping policy.

Komatsu's latest generation excavators -- PC205-10M0, PC210-10M0, and PC500-10M0 have set new productivity and fuel efficiency benchmarks.

We also offer a wide range of biodiesel-compatible Komatsu equipment, including Hydraulic Excavators, Dump Trucks, Wheel Loaders, Crawler Dozers, Motor Graders, and Water Sprinklers.

We have also pioneered the introduction of electrically powered excavators in India and have recently supplied Komatsu PC3000, electrically driven excavators, for the mining industry in Central India. We are currently working on battery-operated Construction Equipment and are exploring the possibility of introducing hybrid machines in the near future in India. Environment-friendly technologies are developing very quickly and will be the way ahead for the industry.

Further, in support of the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiative, L&T's Product Development Centre has indigenously designed and developed the Girder Transporter. An import substitute product, it is being implemented for the first time in India for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Railway's viaduct construction. The L&T Girder Transporter, a highly specialised, self-propelled vehicle with 216 wheels and two 566 KW diesel engines, transports 40m reinforced Concrete Girders weighing around 1100 Tons. Equipped with a drive-by-wire electronic controller and hydraulic systems, it successfully displaces machines previously imported from Chinese and European firms.

What innovative technologies or processes does L&T employ in its products and services, and how do they contribute to customer value?

The latest generation of machines, Komatsu Hydraulic Excavators -- PC210, PC205, and PC500 are equipped with a new series of engines, hydraulics, and telematics.

Komatsu has pushed the efficiency envelope on the new series of engines by optimising the design parameters to minimise engine peripheral power loss, achieving the maximum net HP output in line with the gross HP developed. This ensures that the fuel consumed by the engine is available for productive work by the machines.

Komatsu's HydrauMind, the patented hydraulic system, has revolutionised the design of Hydraulic Excavators. It has made the machines highly fuel-efficient and productive due to the precise matching of hydraulic power with engine power to meet the demand needed on the work attachment. And it provides fine control over heavy loads, making operations faster and smoother.

Komatsu's latest generation of telematics, Komtrax, continuously monitors machine health and performance to provide insights into the load handled and recommends the optimum mode of operation for saving energy. This ensures that the customer is aware of the best mode of operation for any application and that the machine operator can improve productivity and fuel consumption. Additionally, a large LCD monitor equipped with ECO-Gauge constantly provides efficiency feedback to the operator while operating the machine. Komtarx also alerts the operator to long idling and recommends switching to eco-modes based on the usage and load condition.

L&T Construction & Mining Machinery has recently completed the implementation of Swift Service 360 (S360), a Field Service Management project on a national level. S360 draws information on machine operations from Komtarx, enabling automatic service requests in case of errors, largely eliminating the requirement of manually contacting customer care. The project aims to enhance after-sales support for customers across the country, bringing consistency and uniformity in after-sales and support delivery experience, taking our motto, "In Service, Lies Success," even further and setting new benchmarks in the Construction and Mining machinery industry. With S360, ticket generation for scheduled machine maintenance, assignment of service engineers based on skill levels, and informing customers on parts and consumables needed in advance are all automatic. The system also generates tickets for commissioning machines once sold and tracks the completion time of after-sales and maintenance services.

To support customers, L&T CMB has created a national network comprising 30 dealers, 115 touchpoints, and 27 territory offices of L&T's domestic marketing networks, strategically located to reach most project sites within two hours to cater to more than 35,000 pieces of construction equipment in the field.

Additionally, the network includes more than 800 service engineers with dealers and more than 130 L&T service engineers, delivering seamless state-of-the-art sales and after-sales support with a shorter completion cycle with many automated processes.

What is the employee culture like at L&T, and how does it foster innovation and excellence within the company?

People are central to L&T's activities, achievements and the value it delivers to its stakeholders— the zeal, dedication, and expertise of its people power L&T's growth and prospects. And at L&T CMB, we believe “In Service Lies Success.”

In fact, the outstanding contributions of our colleagues have propelled L&T to be recognised as a “Great Place to Work”. This badge of honour reflects the steadfast commitment and dedication our organisation embodies.

Our integrated talent management framework is based on a robust model that enhances employee capabilities and nurtures professional and behavioural competencies. Our work culture encourages inclusivity and empowers individuals with the freedom to think beyond the conventional, innovate out of the box, and raise performance levels. Over the years, we have crafted a continuous learning and empowerment culture, emphasising transparency, efficiency, and empathy. This strategy has helped us accelerate our corporate evolution to newer horizons of growth and opportunity.

Training and skill development are the pillars which uphold L&T's capacity-building agenda. Our Central Training Institute at Kanchipuram imparts skill-based knowledge to our sales and service engineers. This apart, initiatives like Skill Inventory Test for L&T engineers and dealer engineers are held regularly to identify the most discerning and skilled service engineers.

We also offer several training modules for employee development and skill building to meet various facets of the organisation's growth and performance.

How does L&T engage with the community and give back through its products, services, or philanthropy initiatives?

As responsible corporate citizens, we undertake several transformational initiatives contributing to community empowerment and societal development. With strategic social investments in key areas like healthcare, skill development, and education, we foster long-term sustainable community development and drive growth initiatives that impact people's lives.