Metso has completed its acquisition of HighService Service, the service division of the Chilean mining engineering, construction and technology company HighService Corp, adding around 1,000 employees to its expanding Latin America operations.

The acquisition was announced in January and was approved by the Chilean competition authority in March.

Mikko Keto, President of Metso’s Minerals Services and Pumps business areas, said: “This acquisition expands our service offering in the Chilean and Pacific Rim mining markets and supports Metso’s growth strategy. It brings us more service experts to support our customers in the region and we are happy to welcome our new colleagues to Metso.”

Just a few weeks ago, Metso was awarded a contract to supply crushing and material handling equipment for the first stage of Codelco’s El Teniente copper mine expansion project in central Chile.

HighService Service offers its customers a variety of services from maintenance to commissioning and remote monitoring. Its circa-1,000 employees are in Chile, Argentina and Brazil. Its sales in the fiscal year 2017 were €60 million ($66.2 million).