Mahindra forays into construction equipment

India’s tractor and utility vehicle maker Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) has forayed into the construction equipment business by launching Mahindra EarthMaster Backhoe Loaders. The product will be manufactured from the company’s Chakan plant. Initially, M&M plans to manufacture 200 units on a monthly basis, which will be increased to 300 units the next year. The overall construction equipment market size grew from 40,000 units in 2009 to 84,000 units in 2010. According to M&M, backhoe loaders currently enjoy the largest demand within the construction equipment segment. Around 25,000 units of backhoe loaders are sold in the Indian market, which is expected to go up to 44,000 units by 2014. (February 8,2011)