Kennady Kaippally, Senthil Kumar are Persons of the Year 2026 & Prakash Pai wins Lifetime Achievement!
Sany, Tata Hitachi, Ammann, ACE, LiuGong, AJAX, BEML & Doosan Bobcat emerge Best Sellers.
Mumbai : The BKT Tyres 14th Equipment India Awards 2026
celebrated excellence in India’s construction equipment industry, recognising
outstanding achievements in manufacturing, innovation, sustainability,
leadership and market performance. Held at Aurika, Mumbai, as part of the India
Construction Festival 2026, the prestigious ceremony brought together leading
manufacturers, industry veterans and key stakeholders from across the
construction equipment ecosystem.
Delivering the welcome address, Pratap
Padode, Founder and President, FIRST Construction Council, and Editor-in-Chief,
Equipment India, highlighted India’s emergence as a global construction
equipment manufacturing powerhouse.
He noted that the industry has grown from
approximately $3 billion in 2008 to an estimated $10 billion in FY2025 and is
projected to reach $15 billion by 2030. India is now the world's third-largest
construction equipment manufacturer, exporting to more than 125 countries.
Highlighting the industry’s growing global competitiveness, he added, “For years, people spoke about Make in India. This industry is now demonstrating something even more ambitious: Make in India. Engineer in India. Innovate in India. And sell to the world.”
Prakash Pai Receives Lifetime Achievement
Award
Prakash Pai of Puzzolana was honoured with the Equipment India Lifetime Achievement Award
2026 for his pioneering contributions to India's construction equipment
manufacturing industry.
Widely known as the “Crusher Man of India”, Pai played a defining role in transforming Puzzolana into Asia's largest crusher manufacturer. His contributions to indigenous engineering, including the development of India’s first indigenous cone crusher, have strengthened India's manufacturing capabilities and inspired generations of entrepreneurs.
Equipment India Persons of the Year 2026
Two distinguished industry leaders received
the prestigious Equipment India Person of the Year 2026 honours.
Kennady V Kaippally, Managing Director,
Bonfiglioli Transmissions, received
the award in the Components category, recognising his leadership in
advancing engineering excellence, manufacturing capabilities and power
transmission technologies.
V Senthil Kumar, Managing Director, Propel Industries, was honoured in the OEM category for his contribution to
indigenous equipment manufacturing, technological innovation and sustainable
engineering. Under his leadership, Propel Industries has expanded its portfolio
to over 350 machines and exports to 26 countries. The award was received on his
behalf by Vengadesh D, Joint Managing Director, Propel Industries.
Recognising innovation and market leadership
The awards recognised outstanding achievements
across several industry categories. Schwing Stetter India won Green
Factory of the Year and Innovation of the Year – OEMs, while Volvo
Construction Equipment received the Best Sustainable Construction Equipment
Award. Bonfiglioli Transmissions was recognised for Innovation of the
Year – Components and Accessories.
Metso secured awards for CSR Company of the Year and Best After-Sales
Service Provider. Other winners included Escorts Kubota for Integrated
Solution Provider, AGGCON Equipments International for Best Rental
Equipment Company, Alltech India for Emerging Company in the
Construction Equipment Sector, and L&T Construction & Mining
Machinery for Trainer of the Year.
The Bestseller Awards, presented across
17 equipment categories, recognised leading manufacturers including Schwing
Stetter India, Sany Heavy Industry, Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery, Ammann
India, Action Construction Equipment, LiuGong India, AJAX Engineering, BEML and
Doosan Bobcat India, celebrating their market leadership across
construction, earthmoving, lifting, road-building and concrete equipment
segments.
Equipment India Annual 2026 Unveiled
The ceremony also witnessed the launch of the 19th
Equipment India Annual 2026, themed “MISSION 2030: Can India Build the
World's Next Construction Equipment Powerhouse?”
Unveiled by Pratap Padode alongside the
distinguished jury members, the edition explores India's roadmap towards
becoming a globally competitive manufacturing and export hub, focusing on
technology, innovation, sustainability, productivity and policy support.
Emphasising the industry’s future direction,
Padode said, “From volume to value. From assembly to engineering. From
localisation to technological ownership. From exports as an additional market
to exports as a core strategy.”
The awards were supported by BKT Tyres as
Presenting Partner, LiuGong India as Lanyard Partner and IMPACCT as Business
Intelligence Partner.
The BKT Tyres 14th Equipment India
Awards 2026 concluded by celebrating the organisations and individuals driving
India’s construction equipment industry towards greater innovation,
manufacturing excellence and global competitiveness.
For more details contact:
FIRST Construction Council
Director@FIRSTconstructionCouncil.com