“If projects are completed on time and with minimal errors with the use of BHLs, the brand value of business increases in the market.”
-  Manish Arora, Business Head, Mahindra Construction Equipment.


Backhoe Loaders (BHLs) are one of the most popular equipment in the earthmoving and construction equipment category as they are highly versatile machines and can be used for multiple purposes, and can easily travel on roads. If the numbers are to be believed, then India is by far the largest BHL market in the world, with the equipment accounting for almost 50 per cent of all construction equipment sales in unit terms.

Well, why not? Multi-purpose BHLs offer more than one advantage at the construction sites.
A BHL consists of three pieces of construction equipment. i.e., Tractor, Loader, and Backhoe, combined into one unit. All the three pieces of equipment are suited to do various jobs.


The backhoe tractor is designed to move easily over the rough terrain. While the loader is attached in the front and is designed to do several tasks, such as picking and carrying large amounts of loose materials from one place to the other and pushing dirt, backhoe is attached at the back and is used to dig up hard and compact material, usually earth or to lift heavy loads. Again, the backhoe has three segments i.e., boom, stick and bucket.
Apart from performing the above-mentioned basic tasks, BHLs can also be used to do jobs like digging ditches, laying pipes, planting underground cables or laying the foundation for buildings and drainage systems and, with few additional attachments, they can do much more. If an augur is attached to the backhoe, it can be used to drill holes for planting trees, signs and fencing projects in a variety of soil types. By joining a bucket for cleaning the ditch on the rear, grading and slope-cutting can be easily done with the BHL. An Asphalt Cutter can be attached to the backhoe to repair roads.

Apart from the above, various others attachments are also available, which can be easily attached to the BHLs to perform a number of other tasks. Thus, BHLs can be put to various uses. Overall, with the capacity to perform various tasks, BHLs can offer some major advantages at any construction site. Let us take a look at a few.

Decreases the need for labour and labour costs: At a time when labour shortage is a major issue in the country, BHLs reduce the need for manual labour as a single machine is capable enough of performing multiple tasks at the jobsite. Moreover, while manual labour might have the expertise in doing one task only, BHLs are able to perform a variety of tasks just with an additional attachment. This helps the companies to significantly reduce the labour costs and even the overall cost.


Results in timely completion of the projects: BHLs are not at all affected by any weather conditions and a variety of external factors. Hence, they can very well complete the projects on time. Also, they are highly advanced and technologically-sound machines. So, they complete the tasks faster and in a smooth way.

Leads to accuracy and reliability: BHLs allow contractors to complete the work with minimal quality defects, shielding them from claims arising from poor workmanship. Since, today, many construction contracts in India include a ‘defects liability’ clause, BHLs help the companies in averting any such situation. Also, BHLs improve the quality of work by accurately doing every task.


Leads to profitability: Increased productivity and the reliability of BHLs ultimately translate into higher profitability. In addition, BHLs also make it easier for the companies to complete their projects within budget at a reduced overall cost.

Promotes safety at the jobsite: At any construction site, safety of the employees working on the ground, particularly within confined spaces when heavy materials are being moved around, is a major issue. BHLs put an end to these worries by moving the workers far away from the danger zone.

Enhances brand value: If projects are completed on time and with minimal errors with the use of BHLs, the brand value of business increases in the market, which in turn helps the construction companies or contractors in getting new clientele.

In a nutshell
There are clear benefits of using BHLs at the construction site. These include improved quality, timeliness, better project financials, and safety among others. Hence, it is obvious that the demand for BHLs is expected to grow drastically in the future. In fact, as per Off-Highway Research, sales of BHLs in India is expected to increase from 21,192 units sold in 2015 to 28,000 machines by 2020, resulting in a 32 per cent increase.
Also, in the future, it is expected that more and more manufacturers will be coming up with newer BHLs models to cater to the growing demand. However, market leaders, like Mahindra Construction Equipment (MCE) offering Mahindra EarthMaster BHL model, will maintain their firm ground owing to the number of benefits offered by them.
In fact, if we talk about the major advantages offered by the multi-purpose Mahindra EarthMaster BHL model, then there are many. Let us take a look:

Mahindra EarthMaster comes with a Banana Boom with 7.0 per cent more reach as compared to others. This longer travel ensures precise digging in congested or near the wall digging applications, thus, leading to less defects and greater productivity at all times.

The joystick-operated effortless power controls that come in the Mahindra EarthMaster can minimise fatigue, thus allowing operators to work for long hours. This feature of the equipment can help in reducing overall project’s completion time significantly.

MCE’s BHLs come with the intelligent feature like REMOTECARE, which makes it possible to get business information, such as daily vehicle usage or health reports, fuel level notice, maintenance warning and other such updates, through SMS on mobile phones. This makes equipment monitoring quite easy for the managers as well as the operators.

The MCE’s backhoe comes with 6-in-1 bucket on the loader, which is capable of performing many tasks.
Well, the list of advantages offered by multi-purpose BHLs, especially Mahindra EarthMaster, is endless. All we can say is that the BHLs can be your best bet for performing a variety of tasks with accuracy at the jobsite.