SMT Scharf AG is a leading global mining men and materials transportation solutions provider, both through its home operation in Germany supplying suspended roof monorails (diesel, electric and battery) and floor mounted (trap-guided) duorails with rack-and-pinion drives for both coal and metallic mines as well as its ownership of trackless mobile equipment manufacturer RDH Scharf in Canada.
In its recently released 2019 results, the company said it had achieved significant revenue and earnings growth in the 2019 fiscal year. “This growth particularly reflected a dynamic increase in revenue in China, where business slowed much less than expected as a consequence of continuing market distortions caused by the new regulation for engines (China III). SMT Scharf increased its consolidated revenues by 6.5 % to €75.4 million during the year.
Hans Joachim Theiss, CEO of SMT Scharf AG, put the 2019 business trend into context: “As a niche specialty machinery manufacturer, we are well positioned in the important mining markets to benefit from growth opportunities and the continuing drive for modernisation among mine operators. In 2019, we have again increased revenue and profitability in the face of an increasingly complex market environment. Our strong business in China gave us a strong boost, enabling us to exceed even our original forecast targets.”
From 2021, the new so-called China III regulation will be binding for mine operators in China. In order to make full use of their capacities, some companies have decided to use transport solutions with China II approval for the time being which saw the boost in sales.
Stefan Meyer, SMT Scharf Regional Manager for China/Australia/Oceania told IM: “China has issued new guidelines regarding more strict exhaust gas values in early 2019. All new underground equipment has to comply with these new regulations from January 1, 2021 onwards. We have therefore modified our design of the diesel monorail locomotive and will officially launch a new type called DZK3500 soon. This locomotive will fully comply with the latest regulations. We are currently waiting for the issue of the formal MA certificate. However, we have already received the first orders for these China III compliant locomotives. These machines are mainly used to transport heavy shield supports in underground coal mines during face moves. The machines are appreciated for high flexibility and reliability especially when hauling high payloads in steep inclinations.”
