Back in September 2016, FLSmidth announced an agreement with Northern Heavy Industries Group (NHI Group), based in Shenyang, China, to start a JV called NHI-Fuller Mining Industry Co Ltd for the design and supply of mining equipment targeting the mid-market segment.

Speaking to IM at its global HQ in Valby, Denmark, FLSmidth Mining President Manfred Schaffer, who signed the original agreement, said that while there had been some initial delays due to ownership changes at NHI, that everything is now well on track and that the range of gyratory, cone and other crushers using the Fuller brand have already been developed and a number of units are already being used in China. They, together with a range of screens, will also soon be marketed internationally to other markets that have a demand for these products designed for a lower price point such as other parts of Asia and Africa.

The crushers are made at NHI’s factory in Shenyang, but the design and engineering work was jointly done through NHI-Fuller. At the time of the announcement FLSmidth said the goal of the joint venture was to become the leading mid-market mining equipment supplier for other product lines as well such as grinding, classifying and separation products and not just crushers. There is also the possibility for the Fuller crushers to be incorporated into related NHI offerings to the Chinese mining industry such as semi and fully mobile crushing stations and to large scale-aggregate plants.