The rise in popularity of mobile crushing and screening solutions looks set to continue in the coming years due to the versatility and increasingly high productivity it offers customers. Guy Woodford hears from a senior Sandvik Construction executive just how exciting a market it has become.
The year 2015 is already shaping up to be a big one for Eugene Lyons, vice president of global sales and marketing for
“I love rugby union and go to as many Munster, Leinster and Ireland games as work and family will allow,” says Lyons, who will no doubt have shared his delight with colleagues at Ireland’s 19-9 victory over England in their recent Six Nations Championship clash in Dublin. While that victory over England has, at the time of writing, put Ireland in with a great chance of the coveted Six Nations Championship title, Eugene has similar high hopes for Sandvik’s new and current mobile crushing and screening stars.
In January 2015 at Sandvik’s Mobile Crushers and Screens Global Dealer Conference held in January at the firm’s Ballygawley, Northern Ireland, production facility, the firm launched in front of gathered construction equipment trade press the new QE441 mobile scalping screen and QA335 Doublescreen. The former is said to guarantee high productivity rates and class-leading scalping area, among its many features, with the QA335, a highly efficient mid-sized unit offering versatile and productive screening.
The freshness of the new screening models on show during the Global Dealer Conference was matched by the fresh appearance of the manufacturing facilities and office accommodation at the Ballygawley site after Sandvik last year successfully transferred its mobile crushing and screening production capabilities from Swadlincote, county Derbyshire, England.
As part of this transfer of manufacturing capability, Sandvik is investing €2.095 million (£1.6 million) in a new state-of-the-art paint shop in Ballygawley.
“We’ve been taken aback but just how positively the new models have been received,” says Lyons. “This feedback has come from our distributors, sales people on the ground and customers themselves. As one of our dealers puts it - ‘Simply put, they are highly productive and cost effective to operate.’ I think that says it all.”
Lyons says the QJ341 tracked jaw crusher, QH331 cone crusher and the Doublescreen series are Sandvik’s current biggest global mobile crushing and screening sellers, but there is huge diversity among key regional sales markets.
“As with the market for the construction equipment industry as a whole, the global mobile screening and crushing market has been affected by a variety of factors that have affected demand. These include problems in the Euro-zone, lower rates of growth in China and India, as well as conflicting political messages in North America. However, the demands for aggregates in the US and UK is now increasing, as well as positive signs in Sandvik’s traditional markets in Europe. In effect, the prognosis is good,” concludes Lyons.
“Besides North America where demand for Sandvik products is high, India, Southern Africa and Latin America are all markets where we are hoping to increase sales and our market share.”
Lyons is very clear on what mobile crushing and screening equipment customers are looking for when investing in new models. “They want profitable solutions which reflect the realities of their day-to-day business. Equipment has to be productive, easy to use, environmentally friendly, cost-effective and well built. Furthermore it has to be easily supported and backed-up. Sandvik Construction Mobiles offers all these factors with our dealership and support network being second to none.”
Sandvik’s global sales and marketing chief says fuel and energy efficient mobile crushing and screening are major factors in the company’s product development. “It is essential that our equipment is low maintenance and provides low fuel consumption costs for the customers. Additionally, Sandvik is at the forefront of lower emissions and thus engines must be environmentally focused as well as fuel-efficient.”
Launched last year for Sandvik’s CH430, CH440 and CH660 cone crushers, the Optiagg package includes computer modelling and analysis of a crushing chamber and its output to find the optimal setup and parts combination. Of the importance of such advanced operational management solutions to raising end product quality and production efficiency, Lyons says: “Optiagg is only just starting to be known in the market-place, but as it improves safety and operational efficiency it is a welcome addition to the portfolio of Sandvik Construction solutions. These additional services and products are all focused on assisting the customer, and reflecting their practical needs and requirements. If something can assist our customers, such as Optiagg, then it is welcome by us and our customers.”
Lyons says that the firm’s Mobile Crushing and Screening range is a “strategically vital component” of the Sandvik Construction offering and a key part of Sandvik’s 2020 Strategy, launched in Q4 2013, which focuses on five key areas to secure long-term growth: services packages to offer the best value for customers; sales; operational efficiency; a competitive footprint; and partnerships. “It [Mobile Crushing & Screening range] allows Sandvik to service the requirements of the global construction industry through having solutions to deal with virtually any construction application,” explains Lyons.
According to Lyons, the next few years will see further new Sandvik mobile crushing and screening models launched onto the market, some being completely new, others updated to reflect changing customer needs. He adds: “We place a great deal of emphasis on continuous R&D and channelling customer requirements into new products. The Prisec range of impact crushers and Doublescreens are perhaps the most obvious examples of this approach. “Through transferring operations to Ballygawley, we are now able to centralise and consolidate production in one state-of-the-art site.”
Over the next decade, Lyons sees the mobile crushing and screening market continuing to be driven by customer-focused solutions that improve productivity, are more cost-effective to operate, are easily supported through enhanced aftermarket care, and are environmentally friendly. The biggest challenge for leading international sector manufacturers like Sandvik is, says Lyons, “producing what the customers really need.” He continues: “Every time we develop a new customer-focused machine that the market wants is always a great achievement. And being part of a team that aims to improve the efficiency and productivity of our customers, whilst also helping the environment, makes me incredibly proud.”
