Sandvik is establishing a new production unit in Malaysia to manufacture underground loaders and trucks. Equipment production is planned to begin in Q4 2023 following factory upgrades and other site improvements.
The expansion will help Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions answer growing demand for its battery-electric vehicles (BEVs). While the new production unit’s primary focus will be BEVs, it will also manufacture conventional loaders and trucks as well as battery cages. Annual manufacturing capacity is planned to increase gradually to 300 loaders and trucks and 500 battery cages by 2030.
“Malaysia is among the most technologically developed countries in Southeast Asia and has abundant skilled labor, strong local industrial suppliers and reliable infrastructure,” said Mats Eriksson, president of Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions. “Our mining customers in Asia Pacific will enjoy shorter lead times for equipment manufactured to the same Sandvik standards for quality and safety.”
The new facility, located 70 km south of Kuala Lumpur, sits relatively close (90 km) to Port Klang, Malaysia’s largest seaport and one of the busiest container terminals in the world.
The new factory will span more than 8,000 m2 and include 15 versatile assembly bays. Production ramp-up will begin later this year with Toro LH517i loaders followed by Toro LH518iB, Sandvik’s newly-announced automation-ready battery-electric loader, in Q2 2024.
“Demand for our loaders and trucks is exceeding our current production capacity at our existing factories,” said Patricio Apablaza, president of Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions’ Load and Haul division. “The new production unit in Malaysia will enable flexible manufacturing of both conventional diesel and battery-electric mining equipment.”