IF THE PRICE IS RIGHT

SOME OF THE REGION’S LEADING SUPPLIERS OF LAND SURVEYING EQUIPMENT TALK ABOUT THE SWING TOWARDS LOWER END PRODUCTS AND THE EMERGING CHEAPER BRANDS OF TOTAL STATIONS ENTERING THE MARKET.

By Benjamin Millington

     Total stations have almost become an essential piece of equipment on any modern day construction site, but with so many to choose from, and so many different add-on functions available, are you choosing the right one?

     Regional sales manager for Hexagon’s Leica Geosystems Shiva Kumar says the approach to this question in previous year was to go  for the best technology money could buy.

     Total stations which measure precise angle one to two arc-seconds were the most popular machines in the Middle East’s construction market, but there were also the most expensive, which dictate a significant market shift with the onset on the economic downturn.

     “In the last six months there have been a huge change in the trend and customers are looking at the low- and middle-range technologies” says Kumar.

     “The market has now become price sensitive. The cheaper five second or six second total stations are moving fast. Nowadays it’s a five second market.”

     Kumar says this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as many in the construction industry were previously purchasing high-end technology when a construction-grade total station was required.

     “It all depends on the application of what they do, you should use a one second total station to build a big road or bridge but if you’re constructing a villa or low-rise building a five second or three second maybe enough,” he says.

     “The customer needs to understand their requirement so we can help find a product, which will best suit their needs.

     “This is already happening and now most customers are keen to know what each system delivers rather than having a on second or two second system, which is over-specified for the job.”

     Geomax, a new player in the surveying equipment market, has taken this philosophy one step further by offering customers budget total stations, which have been stripped back to the bare essential functions.

     The company was formed by Swiss measurement equipment giant Hexagon as a separate entity to its aforementioned Leica Geosystems, which tend to specialize in the higher grade equipment.

     The Geomax entered the Gulf market in the month of February through UAE supplier Hillsborough Geomatics and reception of the products couldn’t have been better according to a division manager Intakham Alam.

     “If you talk about high end instrument, nothing is selling. In our scenario, we are aiming at the upper-middle and middle segments of the industry where there is a lot of activity,” he says.

     “We have not been affected by the global economic situation at all. If you look into the pricing of Geomax, I can say confidence that are the most cost effective brand as of now and that’s the reason why we are not having any problems during the recession.”

     Alam says the Geomax products, which are available in two to seven second accuracy, are between 15% to 30% cheaper than any competitors because the machines are streamlined for basic use.

     “The other companies produce machines which are very high-tech and very expensive. There are so many functions which the customer either don’t know how to use or have no need to use,” he says.

     “People are shifting to the three second and five second machines to save money, but second accuracy is not the only price parameter. Compared to us, the big companies are still selling at very high price.”

     “Our strategy is to identify the customers need and provide corresponding technology. We are a new company but we really caught up with the current market requirement.”

     Alam says the Geomax range is offering similar prices to Chinese manufactured product which have aggressively entered the market in recent years.

     “In 2000 there were only one or two Chinese companies, but today there are around 10 to 15,” he says.

     “They manufacture instrument in thousands and are really threatening the top companies because their total stations can be around US$5,000 (AED18,366) cheaper.

     “The problem is that their quality is not up to scratch and they have no support, they dump the instrument and run.

     “In this way we feel they are no competition to us because we have the backing from Hexagon, which is a strong brand with good R&D as well as ongoing and comprehensive product support.”

     However, Geomax is not the only well known company with a “basics” range of total stations in the Gulf market. Leading US manufacturer Trimble is well known for its high-end equipment, but also offers simpler technology through its Nikon and Spectra Precision brands.

     The regional manager for Middle East, India and Africa Debasish Mitra says sales have been down since the start of the year but the brands are performing better than the high-end Trimble products.

     The Nikon and Spectra brands are specially designed to suit areas where the standard of surveying professional is not as high as Europe or the US.

     Most people in the Middle East need a basic machine that is straightforward and easy to learn. Despite being cheaper than the high-end products, Mitra acknowledges that Geomax still has aprice advantage.

     “We see that Geomax is aggressively entering the market and have heard they are really on the lower (price) side than Nikon and Spectra,” he says.

     “I’m not sure what the quality is like and how much that stands in the marketplace, time will tell.

     “We can stand by our quality. We manufacture Nikon products in the same location as the Trimble brand, the only difference is we change the name, the colour and a little bit of programming.”

     Meanwhile Rohit Anand, Gulf sales manager for Japanese brand Sokkia, says he is skeptical that Geomax is taking a significant market share during the economic downturn.

     “I think everyone has suffered, the industry a whole has suffered and all of our competition sales are down,” he says.

     Anand also says the current influence of Chinese imports is havinf no major impact on the market. The Chinese brands have been around since 2008, people were tempted by the price, tried them and now reverted back to the established brands,” he says.

     “They found the products were used and thrown away because there is no means of supporting or servicing those products in the market.”

     Anand says the main demand in the region is still for high-quality total stations from a reputable supplier with an increased degree of automation and functionality.

     “If you’ve talking of only a simple building construction site then you can do the same job using levels or a bare minimum total station, which is just measuring angles and distances,” he says.

     “But not when it comes to a complex structure like Jumeirah Beach Hotel, the Metro or Burj Dubai. When you’re trying to supply equipment to a trained professional surveyor they like to have that added functionality.”

     Philippe Akl, regional sales and marketing manager for Japanese company Topcon, agrees.  “Nowadays, users pay more attention to speed and productivity, not only the traditional and basic functionalities like accuracy and range,” says Akl.

     Increased technology will allow customers to cut costs by reducing the personnel and minimizing time.

     “People will never go backwards to save few hundred dollars on the projects and quality we see in the Middle East.” H