Epiroc records ‘best quarter ever for electrification’

Posted by Daniel Gleeson on 20th July 2022

In a quarter of document revenues and altered running margin, Epiroc’s battery-electric powered machines orders and current market demand for electrified mining methods all over again came to the fore.
The corporation posted revenues of SEK11.9 billion ($1.2 billion) in the June quarter, 22{64d42ef84185fe650eef13e078a399812999bbd8b8ee84343ab535e62a252847} up on the same three-month period of a yr in the past. Its altered working margin arrived in at 23.6{64d42ef84185fe650eef13e078a399812999bbd8b8ee84343ab535e62a252847}, when compared with 22.6{64d42ef84185fe650eef13e078a399812999bbd8b8ee84343ab535e62a252847} a year earlier.
Epiroc’s aftermarket division continued to dominate the balance sheet, accounting for 73{64d42ef84185fe650eef13e078a399812999bbd8b8ee84343ab535e62a252847} of revenues, which itself was up on the 69{64d42ef84185fe650eef13e078a399812999bbd8b8ee84343ab535e62a252847} registered in the June quarter of 2021.
Bundled within just this income is the company’s increasing mid-lifestyle battery retrofit answer, which it released final calendar year to offer a second electrified life for its diesel-powered machines. Ready to transform present machines to battery-electric variations, CEO Helena Hedblom explained the providing continued to locate favour with current mining buyers.
“With brownfield operations, there are great possibilities to convey battery-electric powered remedies into the fleet with our retrofit selection when, for instance, present diesel-run devices go in for their mid-daily life upgrades,” she claimed.
To this level, the firm has devised conveniently obtainable battery-electric powered retrofit choices for its diesel-driven Scooptram ST1030, Scooptram ST14 and Minetruck MT436 devices, but Hedblom stated the company was performing on offering this choice throughout its full diesel-powered fleet, with the equipment retrofit rollout prepare decided by the measurement of the set up base in the market.
The corporation also gained many big equipment contracts in the June quarter that provided battery-electric powered methods.
Its electric powered devices are established to feature on major projects such as Odyssey and Onaping Depth in Canada. Closer to household in Sweden, the Epiroc battery-electric fleet will develop at LKAB’s underground iron ore functions and Boliden is established to use numerous of zero-emission truck and loaders at a lot of mine web-sites.
Epiroc labelled Q2 as its “best quarter at any time for electrification”, and Hedblom was similarly effusive about the company’s featuring, saying it was constructed for both of those greenfield and brownfield mines.
“We have a solid position in the electrification market equally for equipment product sales, retrofit and electrical infrastructure,” she claimed.
The company’s infrastructure proposition was strengthened for the duration of the quarter with the acquisition of JTMEC, an Australia-based mostly enterprise specialising in supplying mines with electrical infrastructure.
This comes on prime of the company’s new obtain of Meglab, a Canada-dependent corporation with knowledge in furnishing electrification infrastructure answers to mines, indicating it has electrification infrastructure skills in two important mining hubs.
1 of the battery-electric orders been given all through the most recent three-thirty day period interval was from Boliden for the Rävliden, Kristineberg and Renström mine internet sites in northern Sweden. Integrated in this purchase was an Scooptram ST18 Battery that, the corporation formerly verified, will involve the incorporation of Scooptram Automation, symbolizing a single of the initial instances these battery-backed equipment will receive an automation update.
Though a option for automating the battery charging or swapping method remains some way off, Hedblom sees the convergence of the two – electrification and automation – acquiring closer in the upcoming.
“Electrification and automation go hand in hand, with corporations that are superior on electrification also ordinarily remaining substantial on automation,” she stated.
