ABB has won a renewal from Vale Inco Newfoundland & Labrador for all maintenance-related activities covering plant production equipment at its Voisey’s Bay facility in Canada. The aim is to improve productivity and reduce costs. Since the agreement commenced, it has helped Vale Inco achieve the fastest ramp-up of all the company’s greenfield sites in 2005; attain all-time production levels in 2006; achieve 1,000 days with no lost time due to injury in 2007; and reach the highest tonnes-per-day production in 2008.

ABB will continue its partnership with Iskueteu, an aboriginal company providing operations support, to fulfil the agreement. “ABB Full Service agreements help turn maintenance departments into profit centres,” said Magnus Pousette, head of ABB Reliability Services North America. “By bringing proven best reliability practices to our customers, we add new value to their bottom line while they focus on their core business.”

Vale Inco, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vale of Brazil, is a leading producer of nickel, copper, cobalt and precious metals, based in Toronto, Canada. With over 100,000 employees worldwide, Vale is the second largest mining company in the world, with a market capitalisation of more than $125 billion.