Capital Equipment News October 2024

With the upgrade of the workshop infrastructure and the expertise to go beyond repairs or refurbishment, customers can cost effectively have their truck, loader or drill remanufactured in-country.

The Sandvik operations in Zimbabwe have also evolved their support strategies to include a full remanufacturing service for its underground equipment.

The apprenticeship programme has been evolving to include more electronics in the traditionally mechanical content – leading to training that is more focused on mechatronics and data analysis.

In the seven years that the remanufacturing programme has been active, there have been 136 items of equipment remanufactured and returned to customers.

The Sandvik operations in Zimbabwe have also evolved their support strategies to include a full remanufacturing service for their underground equipment.

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TH545i trucks, to which another five may still be added.” Among the factors to consider is that the mine runs mainly manual trackless equipment, which must interact with the automated units. The process required constant collaboration between the customer and various expert teams from Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions. “The success of these trials makes this intervention the first automated trucking loop in a low-profile, room-and-pillar environment,” he notes. “The next step

in this phased automation approach will be to have a matching loader, and then go through the various stages of automation for the drills.” By upgrading its workshop infrastruc ture and expertise to go beyond repairs or refurbishment, customers can cost effectively have their truck, loader or drill remanufactured in-country. “The advantage of this model is that we can make a complete OEM’s assessment of what work needs to be done, and then return the machine to our stringent

The years leading up to this point saw a great deal of R&D work from our Finland factory, especially regarding the traffic management system,” says Brian Chitenderu, Sandvik Territory Manager for Zimbabwe. “This complex system manages five of our TH545i trucks, to which another five may still be added.

Being close to its customers is important to Sandvik, and this includes providing aftermarket support.

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