Caterpillar Asia managing director Chris Curfman says his company's capabilities in India will make a positive impact on development in Asia as a whole

Chennai: "India is an important part of our company's overall strategy to grow our presence in Asia - including China and elsewhere. Caterpillar has outstanding development, manufacturing and distribution capabilities in India which we believe can be used to make a positive impact on the development opportunities we see not only in India, but Asia as a whole," says Chris Curfman, managing director (Asia Pacific marketing), Caterpillar Asia.

Curfman oversees the Asian operations, which generate around 13 per cent of the American company's $20.15-billion global revenues. An old hand in the earthmoving equipment industry, Curfman, after his graduation in 1975, joined Wallace Machinery. In 1979 he moved over to Deere & Co. It was in 1994 that he joined Caterpillar Inc, USA.

Does Caterpillar have any plans to make India its sourcing base for machines and components [diesel engines and earthmoving equipment]? If yes, which are the products to be sourced, and for which markets?
Caterpillar has been sourcing various components for engines and earthmoving equipment from India for quite some time, for our operations in the US, Asia and Europe. We are very impressed with the industrial capability of our India-based supplier network and our own operations.

What is your India export plans?
For the present, our plans are to export components. However, we are constantly evaluating the capabilities of our manufacturing and product requirements throughout Asia and the world. We see a lot of opportunity, not only for machine exports out of India, but also for the possibility of more machine and engine products getting into India. We do see the Indian market as a major growth opportunity for our Asian operations.

Can you explain the changes Caterpillar brought about [production, vendor base, marketing, R&D, administration] in Caterpillar India after the takeover?
Some of the most significant changes have been the implementation of Six Sigma and the pursuit of operational excellence using Class A disciplines. We are certain that these processes will ensure world-class product quality and product availability that will ensure long-term growth and profitability for our Indian operations. We continue to aggressively pursue new business opportunities in India. This is true for the 424 Series 1 Backhoe Loader we have just announced and for other Caterpillar products such as electric power generation.

Can you detail how Six Sigma initiatives had a positive impact on Caterpillar India's operations and bottomline?
Without question, Six Sigma is playing a key - and positive - role in our Indian operations. We are absolutely convinced that Six Sigma will be an enabler that will ensure growth and success in the market place.

After the backhoe loader, which are the other products you plan to launch here? Will these be imported or manufactured here?
We are absolutely convinced that the opportunities in India are very attractive. In addition to the backhoe loader, we have just announced the introduction of the 1025 Series I truck. This truck with a Caterpillar 3306 engine built at our majority owned facility, Hindustan PowerPlus in Bangalore, will deliver exceptional customer value and performance.

Is it true that Caterpillar India is planning to roll out a new crawler tractor?
We are constantly evaluating opportunities for growth in India. Caterpillar is the world's leading producer of track type tractors [TTT] and we have produced TTT's in India for many years.

What is Caterpillar India's target for this year [turnover, market share, according to each product segment)?
Our target for India is profitable growth, a responsible community and social citizen, and ensure an exciting and dynamic workplace for employees. We are very pleased that our employees in India have joined the global family of Caterpillar employees.

What is Caterpillar India's market share in India's earthmoving equipment industry overall?
It is our long-standing corporate policy not to comment on market share information. However, we can say that we are aggressively pursuing new business opportunities in India.