Epiroc is today inaugurating a new heat treatment plant for rock drills in Örebro, Sweden, which, it says, will benefit customers by further strengthening rock drill quality and performance, lowering their total cost of ownership.

Heat treatment is an essential part of rock drill manufacturing. The new heat treatment plant is built through an expansion of the current workshop building. It will also enable higher production volumes.

Production at the 1,400 sq.m heat treatment plant will be able to run 24 hours a day thanks to automation. Energy efficiency is a key focus for the design – for example, residual heat will be recycled internally to heat buildings as well as externally to Örebro’s local heating system. The building also has solar panels.

Helena Hedblom, Epiroc’s President and CEO, said: “This new heat treatment plant is a key step towards ensuring that our world-class manufacturing site in Örebro will remain as productive and competitive as possible for the long term, and it was designed to optimise energy efficiency.”

Örebro is one of Epiroc’s global manufacturing hubs. The company employs about 2,900 people in the city, out of a global workforce of around 17,000.