POSITION AND MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES AT ROBIT

My position at Robit is as the Managing Director of the Southern African region, where I am responsible for leading the sales team and meeting the sales targets to reach our growth goals. This means that I make sure that Robit’s global processes are followed in the region and the regional pricing is based on the global guidelines. On top of this, I am responsible not only for our inventory management program, including forecasting accuracy, receivables (collections), and distribution, but also for the Profit and Loss statement, to ensure that we remain profitable.

EXPERIENCE ON THE FIELD

To this day, I have spent 26 years in the hard rock drilling industry, with extensive focus on cost-per-meter contracts. The past 7 years I have been with Robit sales and marketing.

KEY MARKET TRENDS ON THE FIELD FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS

Mining is and will remain the main focus for Robit SA. As we are selling mainly to the direct market, we need to maintain a high quality and acceptable lead times. As mentioned previously, the demand for cost-per-ton and cost-per-meter contracts remains high on our customers’ agenda, with the reasoning being that this ensures a high level of involvement on the supplier’s side.

HOW DO ROBIT’S ONGOING ACTIONS SUPPORT THE CUSTOMERS AND THEIR CURRENT CHALLENGES?

Years and years of selling face-to-face with a firm product knowledge, not letting our customers down, and never overcommitting availabilities (after all, nothing sells like stock!) have helped us build close and strong relationships. Mining is all about cost effectiveness and, therefore, Robit Rocktools will always be a part of a measured commodity in both efficiency factors of provided products, cost per ton and cost per meter. The implementation of new, game changing products is essential as it will set us apart from our competition.

HOW DO YOU SEE ROBIT IN 2021 – WHAT ARE YOUR MAIN EXPECTATIONS ON YOUR FIELD?

There have been big improvements over the past few years. That being said, we continue to focus on improving our on-shelf availability levels and product performance.

For more information: Franco Deventer, firstname.lastname@robitgroup.com

 

Read more Robit ProTALK interviews:

• George Apostopoulos, VP Global Sales
• Jorge Leal, VP Top Hammer
• Adam Baker, VP Down The Hole
• Kari Alenius, VP Finland
• Ville Pohja, VP Geotechnical
• Mikko Vuojolainen, VP North America
• José Cisneros, MD Robit S.A.C.
• Steve Landreth, VP Australasia
• SK Back, Regional Sales Director – Asia
• Pavel Timofeev, VP CIS & East Europe

POSITION AND MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES AT ROBIT

I am heading Robit’s North American sales division as Vice President, North America. In my position, I am responsible for ensuring that we meet our sales targets in the region. I am also responsible for the company’s net working capital (NWC) in the region, managing the region’s inventories, receivables, and forecast accuracy. It is my task to ensure that Robit’s global processes are followed in the region, for example distribution management process including distribution development road maps. Furthermore, I manage the company’s regional pricing based on the global guidelines and am responsible for the region’s cost effectiveness.

EXPERIENCE ON THE FIELD

While my experience in this particular industry is just under 4 years, all of it at Robit, I have managed to accumulate nearly 30 years’ worth of experience in international sales and distribution management.

KEY MARKET TRENDS ON THE FIELD FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS

Mining is expected to continue at a high level; not only staying the same, but actually increasing slightly from year to year. This should help us gain a steadier income from the market and potentially even increase our foothold. 

Construction business, on the other hand, will be more cyclical, responding heavily to the political situations and investing cycles, thus being a little more difficult to predict.

HOW DO ROBIT’S ONGOING ACTIONS SUPPORT THE CUSTOMERS AND THEIR CURRENT CHALLENGES?

New and existing products often offer a possibility to improve operational drilling efficiency; in this regard, Robit is in a very good position. Since mining companies currently face tremendous pressure for cutting operating costs, we should be able to benefit from this with our offering. Product availability is critical for companies like Robit, which have their factories far away from local customers. Our current efforts to boost the availability will hopefully allow us to gain an edge in this regard.

HOW DO YOU SEE ROBIT IN 2021 – WHAT ARE YOUR MAIN EXPECTATIONS ON YOUR FIELD?

Overall Robit continues improving the performance. Top Hammer sales have developed well and Robit is investing into increased production capacity. Robit globally, and we in North America, see year 2021 positively.

For more information: Mikko Vuojolainen, firstname.lastname@robitgroup.com

 

Read more Robit ProTALK interviews:

• George Apostopoulos, VP Global Sales
• Jorge Leal, VP Top Hammer
• Adam Baker, VP Down The Hole
• Kari Alenius, VP Finland
• Ville Pohja, VP Geotechnical
• Franco van Deventer, MD Southern Africa
• José Cisneros, MD Robit S.A.C.
• Steve Landreth, VP Australasia
• SK Back, Regional Sales Director – Asia
• Pavel Timofeev, VP CIS & East Europe

The latest issue of Robit’s customer magazine Bulletin has been published! 1/2021 issue features articles i.a.: “Swerock puts new drill bit series to test” and “Introducing a tubeless DTH hammer”.  Read the magazine here:  Bulletin 1/2021

Robit Extreme Carbide for Blast Hole and Well Drilling Applications

The new Dual Property Extreme Carbide has an outer carbide layer that is designed to resist wear, the inner core utilises Robit standard grade #1 carbide. Even when the outer layer has been worn away, the DTH bit performs in the same way expected from the Robit standard quality carbide. The carbide allows for extreme wear resistance but also has a core that is durable to resist fracturing.

• Robit Extreme grade #4 carbide specially formulated for highly abrasive ground conditions
• Beneficial for Blast hole and well drilling applications
• Increased performance of over 50% bit life*

*Customer trials in North America showed improvement of over 50% of the bit life when drilling in highly abrasive well drilling application

The Extreme grade #4 carbide stays sharper for longer, increasing productivity and reduces the number of regrind processes required which reduces the downtime for the driller. The new Robit Extreme carbide is developed to reduce the overall drilling CO2 impact and to improve sustainability of the Robit products.

When achieving total hole depth is the key requirement, the new extreme carbide can allow the DTH bit to perform without the need for regrinding or replacement making the new carbide more efficient, higher performing and reduces overall costs.

All Robit Extreme carbide #4 DTH bits will be made-to-order and not available as stocked items.
All stocked Robit DTH bits will contain the standard #1 carbide grade.

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New DTH Drill Bit Description

Example: DTHBIT165QL60 FF H1

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Carbide Selection/Grade

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Shanks & Face Designs

* = Hemispherical Ballistic Carbides

Download brohures: Robit Extreme Carbide and Robit DTH Bits

For more information please contact Mr. Adam Baker, VP Down the Hole Products, firstname.lastname@robitgroup.com

The New Robit® Tubeless DTH WH TL Hammer series for demanding blast hole and energy well drilling now available!

Overview
The new tubeless range of high-performance Down the Hole hammers, designed to tackle applications where footvalve breakage can be a cause of downtime. Particularly recommended in ground conditions with high volumes of water or in soft unconsolidated ground where typical footvalve failures occur. Preferred by drillers in both blast hole and well drilling applications.

Key Features

• Tubeless hammer design eliminates the risk of operational downtime as no footvalve is required
• Choke system to allow adjustment of airflow to suit compressor and improve flushing on WH5 TL and WH6 TL
• Inner liner allows optimal air flow and provides improved performance when drilling in wet conditions
• Piston designed for improved strength and optimal performance

Drill bit compatibility
Hammers are compatible with following standard Robit shank drill bits:

4” Hammer
WH4 TL = TD40 shank with footvalve removed
WH4 TL = DHD340 shank with footvalve removed

5” Hammer
WH5 TL = QL50 shank with footvalve removed

6” Hammer
WH6 TL = QL60 shank with footvalve removed

Download the catalogue: Robit® Tubeless DTH WH TL Hammer Catalogue

Watch the video: Robit® DTH WH TL Hammer Series

For more information please contact Mr. Adam Baker, VP Down the Hole Products, firstname.lastname@robitgroup.com

Welcome to visit us at Robit’s valued distributor, DPMF’s stand H7 in SOLSCOPE – INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION FOR THE GEOTECHNICAL, DRILLING AND FOUNDATIONS SECTORS between 23-24 June 2021 in Lyon, France.

Solscope is an international exhibition for the geotechnical, drilling and special foundations sectors. Created in 1992, it takes place every 2 years, in odd-numbered years, in a different city. Solscope is organized around conferences, workshops, indoor and outdoor exhibition of machines. Every 2 years, it brings together around 2000 visitors, 150 exhibiting companies and 200 delegates. The last edition was held in Marseille in June 2019.

You will find out Robit’s piling and energy well solutions for demanding ground conditions.

In the picture from the left: Eric Giraudet, DPMF, Sales Manager – Ahmad Afridi, Robit Plc, Sales manager – Regis Roman, DPMF, Sales Manager

Growth company, Robit Group, will host a Capital Markets Day 2021 for analysts, investors, and financial media on 23 September 2021.

Participants will have an opportunity to learn more about the way Robit plans to generate value to all the stakeholders in a sustainable way. We will also share our view related to the market trends. The agenda will include a Q&A session.

Participating from Robit Group will be Tommi Lehtonen, Group CEO; Arto Halonen, Group CFO; Harri Sjöholm, Chairman; and other Robit Group’s key management.

More information and registration will be published as a press release and will also be available on Robit Group’s website closer to the event.

We look forward to your participation!

For further information, please contact:
IR & Communications Manager, Violetta Silver, +358 45 202 0252, violetta.silver@robitgroup.com

ROBIT PLC
Tommi Lehtonen

 

Robit has in the recent years strengthened and grown its position in the construction industry and particularly in piling and supporting business. As a part of this development Robit has purchased a product invention and related patents from Tri-Mach Oy, a Finnish company manufacturing piling products.

This novelty applies particularly in drilling and installing large piles. As the current trend indicates, the diameter of piles is increasing up to two meters. Robit believes that this novelty suits well in the current market development and provides significant benefits to the customers compared to their existing solutions.

Robit has started a pilot project to launch the product in the market as well as will initiate product tests in co-operation with its key customers.

Robit has globally a strong market position as well as wide knowledge in the construction industry and particularly in customer solutions of piling and supporting business. This sector comprises a considerable part of Robit’s DTH business area and its growth strategy.

The value of the purchase is not significant and thus, is not disclosed by the parties.

ROBIT PLC
Tommi Lehtonen

Further information:
Tommi Lehtonen, Group CEO
+358 40 724 9143
firstname.lastname@robitgroup.com

Due to rapid growth Robit has decided to expand the production of Top Hammer and Down the Hole consumables in its factory located in Lempäälä, Tampere region, Finland.

Working to continue offering the best solutions adapted to the continuous growth and needs of customers, the expansion will add approx. 750 square meters of floor space for even more efficient production.

As a result, Top Hammer and Down the Hole production will be divided into separate production lines. The expansion includes also further investments in equipment and automatization.

This expansion will allow Robit to improve its production capacities and efficiency. The new production area reaches its full capacity during the upcoming autumn 2021.

Robit has launched a “24/7 Phone-in Service” for its valued distributors, customers and prospects.

Robit’s “24/7 Phone-in Service” Team will provide instant support on products, pricing, availability and basic technical issues. You may reach Robit’s “24/7 Phone-in Service” on the following number: +358 3 3140 3451.

“Serve with Speed” is one of Robit’s core values. With the “24/7 Phone-in Service” Robit is just a phone call away to serving your needs.

For more information regarding the service, feel free to contact: George Apostolopoulos, VP, Global Sales, firstname.lastname@robitgroup.com.

Robit Group and M. BAR Maintenance LTD have signed an exclusive distributor agreement. Based on the agreement, M. BAR will represent Robit and distribute all Robit products in Israel.

M. BAR provides solutions for concrete and construction equipment. The company imports, exports, sells, assembles and maintains after-sale service and trade-in. In Israel, M. BAR is also a well-known supplier of drilling consumables. M. BAR was established in 1996 and is located in Caesarea Industrial Park, Israel. Further information: www.mbar-maintenance.com/

“Construction, mining and quarrying are active segments in Israel. Especially, tunneling infrastructure for public transportation is being developed and thus, the demand for drilling consumables and solutions for challenging soil conditions is high. M. BAR is a well-known company in the Israeli construction segment as a supplier of machines and equipment for many notable clients. Thus, we are very optimistic about our co-operation with Robit, as through this agreement we can serve our customers even better with our current supply and Robit’s quality drilling consumables. I believe that with M. BAR’s market position and professional technical team combined with globally known Robit’s quality drilling consumables we can achieve very good results and become a leading supplier for drilling tools in the Israeli market”, states Gilad Bar, Director, Operation & After Sales of M. BAR Maintenance LTD.

Robit is a strongly internationalized growth company servicing global customers and selling drilling consumables for applications in mining, construction and contracting, tunneling and well drilling. The company’s offering is divided into three product and service ranges: Top Hammer, Down the Hole and Geotechnical. Robit has 9 of its own sales and service points throughout the world as well as an active sales network in 100 countries. Robit’s manufacturing units are located in Finland, South Korea, Australia and the UK. Robit’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. Further information is available at www.robitgroup.com.

In the picture: Mr. Gilad Bar, Director, Operation & After Sales of M. BAR Maintenance LTD

When driving south towards Helsinki from Tampere, many might have noticed a bright blue logo ‘Robit’ to their right in the motorway before Ideapark. What looks like a conventional industrial building from outside is actually a booming workplace for international talents in Tampere. 10 out of 60 employees of Robit Finland have an international background extending from South America to South Asia.

“Hiring internationals has turned out to be the right-fit due to the global nature of our business.”, clarifies Jaana Rinne who is head of HR at Robit. Founded in 1985, Robit is a global company with the widest offerings in drilling consumables. It has manufacturing locations in 4 countries and 3 continents, and has a sales network globally.

Since 2015, Robit has been successfully hiring recent graduates and students close to their graduation in Finland through ‘Talent Trainee Program’. Jaana explains that this program is open for all, but lately a lot of the international hires have been coming through this program. “We hired a Talent Trainee from Pakistan in 2016, from Vietnam in 2018, from Nepal in 2019, and from Brazil in 2020.”, Jaana believes that for international talents, who are studying or have studied in Finland, finding a job and becoming tax payers in Finland is a wonderful way of giving back to Finland.

Jaana Rinne, HR Director, Robit Plc

Besides this program, Robit has also been hiring internationals in expert or specialist positions who originally come from Mexico, Greece, Ukraine, Russia, Australia and so on. Jaana admits the challenges around such a hiring process. She points, “It is rather easy to hire international talents who are already in Finland as they hold the required resident/work permits, and are familiar with Finnish work culture and expectations.” She believes a clear set of guidelines or one-stop service, and a little support from public stakeholders could really help companies like Robit to navigate bureaucratic hassles, and engage openly in international hiring.

While bureaucracy pertaining to hiring international talents from outside Finland could be a deterrent, Jaana believes there is much to be done when it comes to hiring the international talents that are already in Finland. She points that a lot of companies might not be even thinking or considering hiring internationals to their teams. This can be attributed to the communication challenges as many globally exporting companies could still be using Finnish as their business language, and the use of English might well be limited only to few employees handling customer communication.

“At Robit, our business language is English so an international talent can easily walk in and start contributing from day one. As a global company, we refrain from hiring any Finnish employee to office work whose working English is not good.”, Jaana continues. Her suggestion to other companies is to have courage to hire international talents as long as they fit well in the role and the team.

For international talents trying to find their breakthrough in Finnish companies, Jaana recommends to carry the right attitude and motivation. She believes an applicant must be clear why s/he wants to join the company, and should be able to clearly state why the company should hire them. Her advice is to use abundant resources now available online, and try avoiding typos or being too ‘funny’ just to stand out when writing application or motivation letters.

Robit is a great example of a global Finnish company when it comes to keeping an open mindset in their hiring process. Their focus is rather on finding the right-fit than the right national. Moreover, they are aware of the challenges but have been very courageous to include international talents in their workforce to truly represent the spirit of a global company. ‘We Drive Change.’ is one among their three values, and they are truly driving the change by providing opportunities to international talents consistently and successfully in Finland.

Text: Tampere talent Ambassadors

Robit has signed an Exclusive Distributor Agreement with Eurasian Machinery LLP for Robit’s full product offering. Based on the agreement, Eurasian Machinery LLP will represent Robit and distribute all Robit products in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Eurasian Machinery LLP is the largest company supplying specialized machinery and equipment for mining, construction, and oil and gas enterprises in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Eurasian Machinery LLP is the official distributor of Hitachi Construction Machinery (HCM) in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The company is also a distributor for many other reputable brands like Furukawa, SWEDFAN, BELL and Powerscreen. Eurasian Machinery LLP employs over 600 employees and provides customers with high-quality technical services through 10 centers, including high-tech Component Repair Center in Karaganda. The company offers highly qualified technical support and service with its extensive expertise, highly qualified personnel and a broad network of representative offices across the region. Further information: www.eurasianmachinery.kz/en/

“We are excited to create this new partnership to serve drilling industry in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan with a combination of Eurasian Machinery LLP’s experienced team and Robit’s high performance, wide offering and global capabilities. Eurasian Machinery LLP has a very strong position in mining industry in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and we look forward to work with their professionals team as we both have a high ambition to grow our business in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan,” comments Mr. Tommi Lehtonen, CEO of Robit Group (signing the contract in the picture).

Robit is a strongly internationalized growth company servicing global customers and selling drilling consumables for applications in mining, construction and contracting, tunneling and well drilling. The company’s offering is divided into three product and service ranges: Top Hammer, Down the Hole and Geotechnical. Robit has 9 of its own sales and service points throughout the world as well as an active sales network in 100 countries. Robit’s manufacturing units are located in Finland, South Korea, Australia and the UK. Robit’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. Further information is available at www.robitgroup.com.

Robit Group and Cimertex have signed an exclusive distributor agreement. Based on the agreement, Cimertex will represent Robit and distribute all Robit products in Portugal.

Cimertex was established in 1964, in Porto, Portugal. After more than 50 years of intense activity, Cimertex believes it has the essential skills to face the future with optimism. The key concept of company’s activity is customer support throughout the life of the equipment. Robit’s partnership with Cimertex is developed to ensure highest possible services levels for drillers in Portugal. Further information: https://cimertex.pt/en/.

“We got to know Robit from personal relationships in Finland.”, says Mr. Álvaro Bastos, Executive Director At Cimertex. “Portugal is small but very diversified market. We have quarries for dimensional stone and for aggregates, construction, underground mining, tunnelling, water well drilling, foundation works, all of those with a high level of know-how. The challenge is to serve all these industries professionally, taking into account that the size of the country limits the means we can use.”, he continues. “Expectations of this cooperation are not less than be the market leader in three years in Portugal!”

“We are excited to start this partnership to serve our Portuguese drilling consumables customers. Combination of Cimertex’s strong presence and experienced team together with Robit’s high performance drilling consumables and technical support will offer Portuguese customers a strong solution for their drilling consumables needs”, states Mr. Tommi Lehtonen, CEO of Robit Group.

Robit is a strongly internationalized growth company servicing global customers and selling drilling consumables for applications in mining, construction and contracting, tunneling and well drilling. The company’s offering is divided into three product and service ranges: Top Hammer, Down the Hole and Geotechnical. Robit has 9 of its own sales and service points throughout the world as well as an active sales network in 100 countries. Robit’s manufacturing units are located in Finland, South Korea, Australia and the UK. Robit’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. Further information is available at www.robitgroup.com.

“Ranta-Tampella welcomes its new residents in Finland’s most attractive city, Tampere”

Piling of foundations is at full blast at Ranta-Tampella, which is located on the lakeside of Näsijärvi and right around the corner of Tampere city center in Finland. The residential area planned for approximately 3 500 residents is smoothly being built on foundations, which lean among others on piles drilled with Robit’s drilling consumables.

YIT and NordPile are currently piling on the site down to 30 meters with Robit’s DTH Prime 168 mm and 219 mm pilots and ring bits. The soil is challenging due to fill-up soil including different sizes of rock material as the subsurface has been extended over the lake. Robit drilling consumables’ performance in such conditions is of a high quality and reliable, and Robit products have been in use right from the beginning of the Ranta-Tampella projects. See the clip from the very starting point back in 2016: Robit® DTH Prime for challenging piling projects

During the coming years, Ranta-Tampella is one of the largest construction areas in Tampere.  The project of Ranta-Tampella started already in autumn 2016 covering several operators, among others YIT and NordPile. The total value of the project is approximately 900 million euros. The first residents moved to their dream homes in 2018 and Ranta-Tampella is expected to be ready by 2030 including over 2 000 new apartments on an area of approximately 16.5 hectare.

Fact Sheet

• Project: Ranta-Tampella
• Location: Tampere, Finland
• Project started: 2016
• Project to be completed: 2030
• Total value: approx. 900 million euros
• Status: under construction
• Purpose: habitation
• Robit products: DTH Prime 168 mm and 219 mm

POSITION AND MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES AT ROBIT

I am heading Robit’s Geotechnical business area, which consists of our offering for foundation drilling and well drilling. Geotechnical is one of Robit’s three strategic business areas (SBA) alongside Top Hammer and Down the Hole SBAs. My responsibilities include among others global growth, profitability and offering development of Geotechnical SBA.

EXPERIENCE ON THE FIELD

I have been in the industry now for six years. My background in drilling business is in sales and product management. My first years at Robit I had the privilege to work in a sales area where I could work in all Robit’s main application areas; mining, quarrying, tunneling, piling and well drilling. During the six-year period I have been involved a lot with casing systems in different roles in the organization.

KEY MARKET TRENDS ON THE FIELD FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS

In foundation work installing steel piles with DTH tools as a method is growing. This I see as a positive trend for us and for the whole industry in general. Driver behind this trend is growing awareness of the method which is recognized as fast and extremely reliable. In urban areas best spots are already taken so construction projects are being conducted more and more in demanding ground conditions and locations. This builds more demand for our geotechnical tools.

In well drilling geothermal energy is an important part of global emission reduction targets. Current political atmosphere is favorable for geothermal energy and thus for drilling tools. Holes in this industry are becoming deeper and we keep on pushing the limits what DTH drilling tools are capable of.

HOW DO ROBIT’S ONGOING ACTIONS SUPPORT THE CUSTOMERS AND THEIR CURRENT CHALLENGES?

We are known for our wide offering of reliable products which allows us to serve our customers with the best cost per drill meter solution in different projects and conditions. This development with our offering we keep working on.

We have built and keep building technical hands-on know-how to ensure we are able to help and support our customers at the site with anything they need.

HOW DO YOU SEE ROBIT IN 2021 – WHAT ARE YOUR MAIN EXPECTATIONS ON YOUR FIELD?

2021 will still be some ways affected by COVID-19 but hopefully by the end of the year situation will start to normalize. We expect stimulus packages to accelerate large infrastructure and construction projects. Outlook for 2021 is good at the moment and I expect Robit to grow in geotechnical business – especially in well drilling.

For more information: Ville Pohja, firstname.lastname@robitgroup.com

 

Read more Robit ProTALK interviews:

• George Apostopoulos, VP Global Sales
• Jorge Leal, VP Top Hammer
• Adam Baker, VP Down The Hole
• Kari Alenius, VP Finland
• Mikko Vuojolainen, VP North America
• Franco van Deventer, MD Southern Africa
• José Cisneros, MD Robit S.A.C.
• Steve Landreth, VP Australasia
• SK Back, Regional Sales Director – Asia
• Pavel Timofeev, VP CIS & East Europe

ADSC – The International Association of Foundation Drilling, DFI (Deep Foundations Institute), G-I (Geo-Institute of American Society of Civil Engineers), and PDCA (Pile Driving Contractors Association) have joined forces again for the International Foundations Conference and Equipment Expo, May 10-14, 2021. The event will be held at the Hyatt Regency Downtown Dallas in Dallas, Texas.

IFCEE is a technical conference and equipment show dedicated to the design and construction of foundation systems, using the latest geo-engineering and geo-construction technologies and practices. This one of a kind event will attract attendees from around the world, who will have access to various technical education programs and the world’s largest equipment exposition dedicated solely to the deep foundations industry.

Through our technologies and support, we are pleased to help the major construction sector with all their drilling needs and offer the solutions to even the toughest projects. Robit will introduce its latest solutions and technologies of geotechnical applications. Come and meet our experts to hear more about the widest offering in top quality drilling consumables at our booth #804 & 806!

Warmly welcome, Robit Team

POSITION AND MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES AT ROBIT

My position in Robit is VP Finland. I am responsible for growing the Robit Group sales in Finland and Estonia, in all Robit’s strategic applications in mining, construction, geotechnical and well drilling. To serve the domestic market with speed I do have a highly skilled and dedicated team of sales and customer service personnel who give their best at all times.

Finland is one of the Robit’s direct sales areas, which means that majority of the sales actions is taking place directly with the end-user. Our customer base is large and quite spread across the country so also a lot of traveling is needed as well.

EXPERIENCE ON THE FIELD

I started my career at Robit in 2017. During that time, I have been exposed to sales in EMEA region, mainly in Middle East and Africa. There the sales are done primarily through distributors so coming back to direct sales was a nice change for me.

I have been working in sales and marketing related jobs for more than 20 years, and for more than 15 year within mining sector in several countries in Europe, Africa and Asia.

KEY MARKET TRENDS ON THE FIELD FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS

As said before in Finland we serve all Robit’s strategic applications in mining, construction, geotechnical and well drilling. We are in a good position for growth in all sectors because we do have good, quality products and our reputation as a reliable and sustainable supplier has strengthened over the last years and we are now in a position to deliver.

We are active and well positioned in all applications. We do have four steady pillars to build on. In the future there will be changes in markets but because we have not all eggs in the same basket, we can be more secure of the future growth.

HOW DO ROBIT’S ONGOING ACTIONS SUPPORT THE CUSTOMERS AND THEIR CURRENT CHALLENGES?

In drilling consumable business, no matter what application, there are few “corner stones” that all customers want to rely on and one of the most important ones is availability. Robit commits to be best in class for product availability and as said this is one of the key factors in getting and maintaining customers.

Also, Robit’s commitment to button bit development will be crucial for success. For example, in geotechnical sector we see results of our efforts in bit development – our bits are matching and successful in the quality and performance.

I also see that our new sales organisation enables us to put more focus in specific geographical markets, in my case in Finland.

HOW DO YOU SEE ROBIT IN 2021 – WHAT ARE YOUR MAIN EXPECTATIONS ON YOUR FIELD?

I think that 2021 can be excellent for Robit. Not only in Finland but in every region across the world we have worked hard to get more customer traction. We have been running extensive number of customer trials with very encouraging results. Already in 2020, we did get some major contracts signed.

At the same time, we need to keep one thing clear in our minds, we also need to deliver our promises. Everyone in Robit need to work hard and seamlessly together to serve the customer to the last detail, procurement, production, OPEX, sales, customer service, R&D, etc. When we work together and keep in mind that the customer is number one, we will have a great year of 2021 and beyond.

For more information: Kari Alenius, firstname.lastname@robitgroup.com

 

Read more Robit ProTALK interviews:

• George Apostopoulos, VP Global Sales
• Jorge Leal, VP Top Hammer
• Adam Baker, VP Down The Hole
• Ville Pohja, VP Geotechnical
• Mikko Vuojolainen, VP North America
• Franco van Deventer, MD Southern Africa
• José Cisneros, MD Robit S.A.C.
• Steve Landreth, VP Australasia
• SK Back, Regional Sales Director – Asia
• Pavel Timofeev, VP CIS & East Europe