Two official factory openings announced by Sandvik
09 October 2009
Sandvik Mining and Construction has announced the official openings of two new factories, the first in China, Sandvik's largest such facility to date, and the second in Brazil.
The Chinese factory is in the Shanghai Jiading Industrial Zone and covers 24,000 square metres (260,000 square feet). It has the capacity to allow the production of almost all of the company's equipment, from drill rigs through to crushers and loaders, and is triple certified to ISO 9901, 14001 and OSHAS 18001.
Speaking of the Chinese factory, Sandvik president Lars Josefsson said: "This new facility shows our serious commitment to our customers, suppliers, distributors and personnel in Asia. It brings us closer to our customers in Asia and creates a lot of new opportunities both for us and our customers. Now we have an even better presence and can really create deep relationships and create the best solutions together."
He continued: "It has been a great achievement to finish this facility and get it operational in just one year, and it will increase our manufacturing flexibility a great deal when it comes to capital equipment."
The new Brazilian factory, near the town of Belo Horizonte, will mainly produce components for Sandvik's conveyor systems, although the 17,000 square metres (183,000 square feet) Vespasiano plant will also be used for the assembly conical and jaw crushers, vibrating screens, frames and drums for conveyor belts.
Of this plant, Lars said: "This is in line with Sandvik Mining and Construction's long term strategy of bringing value into our customers' processes. With 50% of our sales in the southern hemisphere it is a natural step to also set up manufacturing close to our customer base. It will increase the availability of our products and we will be able to serve our customers even better. It shows our commitment to our customers. suppliers, distributors and personnel in Latin America."