Sandvik invest in the future.
Day three saw the HUB-4 team visit the large Sandvik Manufacturing facility in Ballygawley, Co. Tyrone. This impressive facility employs over 300 staff and produces a variety of mobile crushing and screening units
Since our last visit two years ago global demand from their dealer network has increased and the production teams have made huge changes to accommodate this. Attracting new staff is a key to the future and apprenticeships are part of this with four new apprentices recently inducted.
Jesper Persson, Life Cycle Director for Sandvik Mobile Crushers and Screens comments: “Our focus over the next few years will remain within our core businesses and investments in R&D will be the evidence of that with new products being launched in 2019.
We will also be focusing our investment in the ‘life cycle experience’ which is about increased ‘uptime’ for the customer. The focus on service to build stronger customer loyalty and secure additional spare and wear parts sales throughout the life of the equipment will therefore be a fundamental part of our business.
We have seen an upturn in certain markets and our core markets are good. We are still developing our dealer network to give us greater coverage.”
Sandvik have in excess of 100 dealers and have continually re-invested in them which has proved beneficial in developing the ‘life cycle experience’.
Jesper said, “the sales managers sit down with our dealers and create a joint business plan; investing in training and people produces positive results which always brings increased product demand.”
My Fleet:
At the recent Hillhead exhibition Sandvik launched their Telematic system called My Fleet - developed initially for the Premium (Q) range of crushers, this new digital solution is purpose designed to help operators max out on their investment. My Fleet has added a powerful monitoring, control and data collection tool, with access provided via a cloud solution, this new functionality is designed to eliminate guesswork and provide the hard data needed for informed business decisions.
We have invested in our portal and the development of my Fleet in order to enable our customers with multiple units to view all their machine’s data. It will be so much easier for our customers to manage their fleet more effectively with all the necessary data to hand in on location, and accessible at the touch of a button.
Hanging screens:
Introduced through the flexibility demanded by the Contractor sector hanging screens have revolutionised material processing allowing the screen to be interfaced with either an impactor or cone crusher. This has eliminated substantial additional costs when investing in two crushers and only one screen!
Working effectively into 2019:
Matching demand with the production lines. “It’s a very positive outlook, forecasting into Q4 and looking at 2019 the overall economic data shows that business is going to be strong and we can take more market share in some of the bigger markets, so it is very positive for Sandvik mobiles.
Our production schedule and capacity are driven by close co-operation with our sales channels on what is required in a given period. This all ties in with our suppliers who are fed the information, so they can supply and react accordingly if we see a change in demand.”
Factory tour:
Since our last visit two years ago significant investment has been made to the production line. We met Austin Walsh – Manufacturing Engineering Manager who has been with Sandvik nine years tells us about the changes on the production floor.
“We have set up a dedicated machine test area where only authorised and trained personnel can test and run the machines to their maximum. All the Sandvik engineers were trained by Adrian Smith, Training Manager, who trains all service engineers worldwide, on electronics, electrics and hydraulics.”
Here we saw a QJ341+ on test for a customer which had been set up. With an oil meter sampler continually checking the oil whilst the crusher runs under high pressure it checks the quality of the oil. The test includes warming up and cooling down, constantly checking all the hydraulics with numerous measurement checks on temperatures and pressures.
Austin, added, “We are continually improving this test protocol, with the quality team sitting in on warranty meetings and constantly providing feed-back; it has been a continuous improvement cycle.
“Demand for instance on the Hanging Screens which have recently been introduced has seen a significant production increase, so a massive market change that we are keeping up with. We have had to completely reorganise this manufacturing area to accommodate these demands.”
Shot-blasting and paint investment:
Almost a year ago the shot blasting area for the larger components was completely rejigged. With the old system waste material had to be disposed of by a contractor whereas now the waste from the new system drops through aperture panels within the floor and then is recycled. The investment has made a big environmental impact improving working conditions and a better-quality end product.
Recent developments in the paint shop involved investment in a powder coating plant to improve quality.
Austin, commented, “It was imperative that we increased capacity to handle the increased production. It was all about increasing quality which involved a move away from wet painting to powder coating. The plant consists of a load-area, a shot-blast, a primer-powder, a green-cure oven, a top-coat powder and a main oven and it utilises a high-tech vacuum system so that 98% of the unused powder is captured and recycled. With the powder process it comes out rock solid and all the edges are coated perfectly.”
It is clear that the Sandvik team continually strive to improve on a culture that defines Sandvik in Ballygawley today. With their three priorities of Safety, Quality, and Production the company are clearly driven by customers challenges, making industrial processes more efficient, profitable and safer.
With exciting projects on the drawing board for the end of 2019/2020 the future looks busy for the Northern Ireland team!
For more information please visit www.rocktechnology.sandvik