On November 27, 2021, 18 units of SKT90S wide-body mining trucks and six units of SKT90E wide-body battery electric and autonomous-ready mining trucks were delivered by China’s SANY to a key mining contractor client in Thailand having been shipped from China to Laem Chabang port. The order was handled by local subsidiary Sany Vietnam Fuli Machinery along with in-country heavy equipment dealer Leadway Heavy Machinery with the customer being leading Thai mining contractor Thaidrill Co Ltd.

The SKT90E has a payload of 60 t and a maximum speed of 44 km/h. The battery is a Lithium Iron Phosphate type from CATL with a capacity of 350 kWh, which can be charged quickly in 60-70 minutes. With 10 units of the 90S already purchased by the client in 2020, there are currently a total of 34 SANY trucks in the Thaidrill fleet, which are in service in two large mining areas in Lopburi Province and Nakhon Si Thammarat Province.

SANY stated: “Compared to the 90S, which is a mature, traditional model, the electric unmanned SKT90E wide-body mining truck is diesel free, making the truck not only cleaner but also worry free from potential fuel shortages at high altitudes. The newer unmanned model is far more intelligent than its predecessors, with outstanding environmental identification and positioning capacity. Based on real-time data analysis, functions such as autonomous route tracking, obstacle avoidance, loading and unloading of material, and parking are realised.”

Having experience with both the old and new generations of SANY’s wide-body mining trucks in the fleet, Thaidrill has given positive feedback on the SKT90E being more stable during operation, simpler to operate, fuel saving and less noisy, due to which they expressed the desire to upgrade the truck fleet to an all SKT90E lineup.