Sandvik Group, one of the world’s leading mining equipment & technology manufacturers through Business Area Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, has opted to locate its new Chinese mining equipment manufacturing facility in the Menghe Town area in Changzhou’s National Hi-Tech District (CND), southern Jiangsu province which in a statement CND says marked an auspicious start for the district’s “Year of Major Projects Breakthrough” campaign. The news comes after Sandvik recently told IM it is in the process of closing its much larger mining equipment factory site in Jiading Industrial Zone, just outside Shanghai, China.
Due to the strict specifications stipulated for the manufacturing processes, Sandvik required a floor with a load capacity of 10 t and a 2,000 m2 testing area outside the plant when selecting the location. To meet this requirement, the Commerce Bureau of Changzhou National High-Tech Zone spent nearly a year looking for a suitable location and says it finally found the ideal site in Menghe Town. The new factory, which will be rented, is expected to be ready for trial production in May and reach its designed capacity in the second half of the year.
Relying on Changzhou’s strong support capabilities for the machinery industry, Changzhou National High-Tech District said it has attracted many known and also lesser-known market leaders from northern Europe, including Epiroc, Husqvarna, Habia Cable, Disa and Dinex, each of whom have made investments there. It added that Nordic companies have initiated a clustering effect in the district but there are also others such as Terex from the US, Bomag from Germany, Haulotte from France, Komatsu from Japan and Hyundai from South Korea, who have all set up operations in the district, “forming a complete engineering machinery industry chain.”
Sandvik has opted to consolidate its Chinese position and shift production to a smaller facility that is tied to current manufacturing levels while also being closer to mining customers. Mats Eriksson, Sandvik Mining’s President, Load & Haul Division told IM in January: “The objective is to optimise the site and maintain manufacturing capabilities within China, whilst achieving the necessary cost improvements and increased flexibility. Following an in-depth review, it has been decided to close down/liquidate the legal entity in Jiading and establish new premises outside Shanghai, which will be used by the Load & Haul and Underground Drilling Divisions. The region that has been selected for Load & Haul and Underground Drilling activities is Jiangsu Province, which is of benefit from a supply chain perspective and is less than two hours from Shanghai by high-speed train for travel purposes.”