Author: Jari Silver

Robit® SR Integrated Ring Bit System

Posted on by Jari Silver

Robit has launched a cost-efficient integrated ring for large sacrificial casing, 508–1 524 mm / 20”–60”.

DTH SR products are economical and cost-effective in homogenous ground conditions where number and size of boulders are limited. One pilot design can be used to install both regular round piles and interlocked Pipe-Pile-Wall piles – just ring bits require different outside diameters. Robit® Solitary Ring Casing Systems are available for all common Down the Hole hammer designs and can be used in all applications where casing is left in the ground.

Please download the brochure: Robit® SR Integrated Ring Bit System

ROBIT HAS HAPPY CUSTOMERS

Posted on by Jari Silver

During January and February 2020, Robit conducted an end-user survey on various aspects of Robit drilling consumables and services. The survey was implemented over phone interviews including totally 93 interviews in Finland, Australia, Peru, South Africa and South Korea.

As the same survey was originally carried out in 2019, Robit received valuable information during this second round. – Our customers are happier than a year ago!

More and more customers would recommend Robit 

NPS (Net Promoter Score) rating has clearly improved and is now on a good level.

Results have improved clearly in Finland, South Korea and Australia. In South Africa and Peru NPS results are still on a good level. Especially, well drilling and quarrying customer satisfaction has improved.

CES (Customer Effort Score) rating has improved and it is on a very good level. It is easy to do business with Robit. 43 percent of the customers see that Robit serves currently better than 12 months ago. All Robit customers see now more improvements in service than a year ago.

Better product performance 

57 percent of the customers see that Robit products offer the best cost per meter on the market. Now there are more customers who see that Robit can offer value added services that drive down costs (78 percent). In Finland and Australia Robit product performance is now better than last year.

Improved support and reliability of supply 

What do our customers say about us:

  • Sales can be reached easily, and the equipment arrive in time.
  • Increased sales personnel have led to improved answers.
  • New organization structure with improved service – quick responses and good know-how.
  • Service and support, and especially management have improved a lot.
  • When placing an order, Robit staff responds immediately. Also, products performance has improved.
  • Robit’s ability of procurement has been improved.

End-user survey 2019 reveals the hard work and dedication of Robit Team Members. – Every Robit Team Member contributes to the success. Serving our customers and colleagues with speed and quality as well as driving positive change while respecting everyone are the key elements for the success. Robit Team is committed to work hard to constantly improve our customer service and experience.

“Further. Faster”.

Remote Drillmaster Service – At Your Service!

Posted on by Jari Silver

We as a Robit Team are doing our best to support our valued customers in the best way we can also during this exceptional period.

As a part of our overall service, via Remote Drillmaster Service, our Drillmaster professionals are here to support our customers in their urgent technical inquiries as a solution to limited travelling during the corona pandemic. Our specialists are ready to help with troubleshoot, testing, product support and guidance.

We are eagerly working at Robit to stay as close as we can with our valued customers by using existing tools and possibilities.

Further information: Jorge Leal, Director, Global Sales, jorge.leal@robitgroup.com, +358 40 487 8154.

Stay healthy!

Three Production Records in a Row

Posted on by Jari Silver

Robit Korea has made a production record for three consecutive months February–April 2020 together as a Robit Team during this exceptional period.

Robit Korea is one of the major manufacturing facilities in Robit Group. Therefore, Robit Korea has taken strong actions to secure the safety and health of its Team Members as well as to ensure continuity of the manufacturing and service of its valued Robit customers.

A great thank to Robit Korea Team – every Team Member has contributed during this very hard time.

We keep on rolling – greetings from Robit Korea!

JAMES KEENAN – AT THE THRESHOLD OF COVID-19 OUTBREAK

Posted on by Jari Silver

James Keenan started his usual business trip in beginning of March, however ending up in a curfew in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for two months. This is a story of a Robit Hero.

James Keenan, Business Development Manager of EMEA-S, is in a hotel located in mountains of Cyprus. The atmosphere is relaxing – the birds are singing in the background and the surroundings are covered with plenty of verdant trees. Who would have guessed that behind this beautiful scene is a long journey starting from a usual business trip turning into a two-month isolation in Saudi Arabia due to COVID-19 restrictions and finally reaching the last stage of a 14-day quarantine imposed by Cyprian government before finally returning home on 12th May 2020.

James Keenan started his usual business trip on 9th March as he went to meet business partners of Robit in Saudi Arabia. At the same time, the world was at the threshold of COVID-19 outbreak. During the next few days and hours, the whole world went under lockdown country after another. – The planned return date of James Keenan on 16th March was also cancelled.

James Keenan managed to book a flight back to Cyprus for 19th March. However, as Saudi Arabia closed its borders for the time being, the alternative flight was also cancelled. “When the first flight was cancelled, I was disappointed, but then, after second and third cancellations, I accepted the fact that there was nothing to get angry about. As the pandemic was worldwide and human lives were lost every day, cancelling a flight was a minor issue compared to the suffering of other people”, states James Keenan. Overall, James Keenan went over six attempts to return home – all of them were cancelled.

During those seven weeks, James Keenan observed a strict daily schedule working from 8.00 am until 4.00 pm without any distractions. During working hours, he communicated intensively with his regional Robit partners and thus, maintained his normal working routines. The hard work spawned few good orders for Robit. One of them was a-two-year contract to supply drilling tools to Al Masane Al Kobra Mining Co (AMAK) in Saudi Arabia for their underground jumbo rigs. The tools are supplied by Robit’s distributor, Bin Harkhil.

The most difficult times came up during free time. “I felt heavy, but once again, I just needed to accept the fact that I had no choice, but to stay calm”, James Keenan recalls. Having regular Skype calls with his family, James Keenan was reassured that his family was in a good health and that the period was temporary.

During curfew in Jeddah, James Keenan was allowed for one-hour shopping between 6.00 am and 3.00 pm each day. The local daily English newspaper and Arab media were keeping up daily information regarding COVID-19. Thus, it was easy to follow restrictions.

The light at the end of the tunnel appeared, as Cyprian government together with its embassy in Riyadh and Saudi Arabian government started to coordinate an evacuation flight for Cypriots. Altogether 60 Cypriot passengers from Jeddah and Riyadh were successfully flown to Larnaca, Cyprus on 27th April. All the passengers were directed through corona test to a two-week quarantine.

James Keenan is one of the Cypriots, who is now in quarantine. A week is behind, another one ahead. “I look forward to seeing my family and having a nice barbeque altogether”, James Keenan rejoices the upcoming homecoming.

We are glad to have James Keenan back in Cyprus safe and well.

Let’s take care of ourselves – and others!

Evacuation Flight – The Cyprus airways aircraft brought us home!

WE ARE HERE TO SERVE YOU!

Posted on by Jari Silver

Robit provides the widest offering in top quality drilling consumables.

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. We are focusing on drilling consumables only (OPEX) in global market. Despite the current global situation with #Covid19, we answer your enquiries without delays, our deliveries from factories are uneffected and supply chain remains solid.

Find out more: Robit Consumables for Mining and Quarrying

Meet us at MineXchange 2020 SME Annual Conference & Expo

Posted on by Jari Silver

Join thousands of your peers at the MineXchange 2020 SME Annual Conference & Expo – the premier event for the mining and metallurgy industry! Conference will take place on February 23 – 26, 2020, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

Get a firsthand look at our new products, comprehensive services and integrated solutions.

We serve You at our booth #302. You are more than welcome!

Robit team

ROBIT SUMMER JOB 2020

Posted on by Jari Silver

How does working with diverse production or office tasks in an international company sound to you?

 

Robit is looking for team members for summer 2020 – apply now!

 

We’re looking for over 18 years old, proactive and positive persons to join our team in summer 2020 for a fixed-term position in Lempäälä headquarters. The tasks are related to production and office.

Productions tasks are in drilling consumables manufacturing and in packing. Any possible previous experience from machining tools, especially CNC machining knowledge / experience is considered as an advantage. Packing tasks require forklift driving skills and a forklift license is a must. All previous working experience in packing and dispatch functions are also considered as a plus.

Office tasks are in production planning and in customer service. Production planning tasks are related to purchasing and processing of orders. In customer service you will take care of receiving orders and logging them into the ERP-system as well as shipping and invoicing. Good IT skills and fluent English are a must in the office tasks. We hope you’re able to work from May until the end of August, but the duration can be negotiated based on your availability.

If you’re interested to join our team for the summer 2020, please send us your application and CV through this link. Kindly mention whether you prioritize production or office tasks.

The application period closes on February 29th, 2020.

For more information about the positions, please contact:

Customer service: Kati Kulma-Bremer, Customer Service Manager

by email kati.kulma-bremer@robitgroup.com or by phone +358 40 350 9833 on 19.2. at 10:00 – 15:00 and 26.2. at 12:00 – 16:00.

Production and production planning: Jorma Pyykkö, Production Manager

by email jorma.pyykko@robitgroup.com or by phone +358 400 967477

Save the date for Conexpo 2020 visit!

Posted on by Jari Silver

Save the date for Conexpo 2020 visit!

Robit is pleased to invite you to visit our booth at the upcoming CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020. The event will take place during March 10-14, 2020 in Las Vegas USA. You will find our team at the booth #C33165.

CONEXPO-CON/AGG is North America’s largest construction trade show, featuring the latest equipment advances and newest technology applications in every aspect of construction and drilling.

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 is representing drilling in aggregates production, concrete, piling, quarrying, tunneling, mining, surface and underground construction.  Come and meet our experts to hear more about the widest offering in top quality drilling consumables.

Hope to see you in Las Vegas!

Welcome to Denver – 46th Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique

Posted on by Jari Silver

Join us at the Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center for the 46th Annual Conference on Explosives & Blasting Technique, the largest gathering of explosives technology in the world. This show provides access to a broad market of explosives users, products and accessories. Last year more than 1,800 people attended including blasters from over 57 countries. They came to learn about the exciting advances in the field of explosives application, research and technology. More than 140 booths of products; equipment; blasting tools and innovative technology, setting the standards for the explosives industry, were also displayed.

The conference is scheduled for Jan. 26-29, 2020, with the Blasters Weekend beginning on Saturday, Jan. 25.

You will find us at the booth #903.

More info at: www.isee.org/conferences/2020-conference

Warmly welcome, Robit team

Partnership in the AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK

Posted on by Jari Silver

Western Australia is a land of extremes. It’s sitting on the oldest rock crust on Earth, formed three billion years ago. It’s most likely also home to the oldest life forms on our planet, dating back even further, some three and a half billion years.

Today, human life forms in the state are mostly concentrated on the fertile coastal areas. In contrast, the vast central parts – the Outback – consist mostly of sparsely inhabited hot desert. In these circumstances the only significant economic activity is mining. 15% of all the world’s iron ore is produced in Western Australia; the state is also a major extractor of gold and bauxite.

A young Matt Izett started out as a driller’s assistant, or “offsider”, for a major drilling operator in Western Australia in the 1980s. By the turn of the century he was managing a branch office of a mining supplies company.

In 2005 Matt took another leap forward and founded Ranger Drilling with his wife Julie, specializing mostly in Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling for customersoperating in the West Australian iron ore market. In fourteen years Ranger has, through consistent growth, become a major player in the industry with 19 drill rigs.

A reliable choice for remote locations, RC drilling is a preferred method for mineral exploration. It uses far less water than diamond drilling, making it ideal for arid areas such as Western Australia, where sourcing water is expensive.

Since the beginning, Ranger has made a point of constantly optimizing and customizing tools, equipment and drilling techniques. In this mission, Ranger have enjoyed a great relationship with Robit Australia (formerly DTA) over the last ten years.

Robit supplies Ranger with RC hammers and bits. “We have made DIFOT a priority with Ranger as their business has grown the offering in mining, exploration, and hydro”, says Mark McGrath, Regional Sales Manager, Robit Australia. “Our team does its best to ensure Ranger can continue to provide world class customer service each and every day.”

Top Hammer theoretical and practical training in Ecuador

Posted on by Jari Silver

Training organized by: Maqoperador S.A. (Ecuador) and Robit PLC
Objective: To give Top Hammer drilling tool customers theoretical knowhow and practical training to ensure maximum drilling performance
Location: Guayaquil, Ecuador
Date: November 22, 2019
Drill bits used: Robit HTG bit 45C76 DSR vs. a bit from another brand
Reported by: José Rodríguez, Sales Manager, Robit

Summary:

In ensuring maximum performance in Top Hammer drilling, one key element is selecting the optimal drill bit. To this end, a series of training sessions for our customers in Ecuador were organized jointly by Maqoperador, the distributor of Robit’s tools in Ecuador, and Robit.

In the theoretical part of the training we covered a wide range of topics such as drill string elements, energy flow through the drill string, correct drilling parameters, selection criteria for button bits, and total drilling costs.

For the practical training, Maqoperador arranged a visit to a quarry where the performance of two T45x76 mm bit designs was measured: a Robit Drop Centre Retrac bit vs. a bit from another brand. The other brand had overlarge 13 mm buttons whereas our bit was 11 mm. Typically customers see oversized carbides as a good feature, but our tests proved otherwise.

The difference in penetration rate was significantly in favour of Robit: 1,8 m/min vs. competitor at 1,06 m/min. In other words, Robit was faster by more than 70%.

Being able to drill faster with less effort also means a better energy flow from the drill string to the rock. This is why differences in overheating were also expected between the bits. If percussion energy is not correctly transmitted from the drill string to the rock, it will dissipate into heat, creating additional problems. Due to the overlarge buttons, the energy was not efficiently transmitted to the rock, so the competitor’s bit was overheating the shank adapter at 150 °C, while with the Robit bit, the shank adapter kept a much cooler temperature at 98 °C.

To ensure the reliability of the results, the testing was performed with the same drill rig, the same operator in the same quarry, using the same drilling parameters at a distance of 1 metre between the holes of each bit.

What was particularly rewarding for us to see was how actively the attendees participated in the training. Events like this are very rarely, if ever, arranged by other brands or distributors, so they truly add great value for our customers and help enhance the Robit brand. We will soon be organizing the same training in other parts of the world. Stay tuned!

Gigantic dry dock rising on the Kola Bay

Posted on by Jari Silver

In the coming years, the use of liquified natural gas (LNG) in transport and industry is expected to grow significantly. That is a key reason why earlier this year, a Robit Steel Fist pilot bit started to penetrate granite rock in the Kola peninsula.

As far as fossil fuels go, LNG is by far the most environmentally friendly – it has the lowest CO2 emissions per unit of energy while also having the highest heating value. Thus, it has big potential as a future transport fuel alongside biofuels, hydrogen and electric mobility, and most major fossil fuel companies have begun investing in it.

Treasure hidden beneath the permafrost

Russia has the largest natural gas reserves in the world. The bulk of those reserves is sitting under the permafrost in northwest Siberia, in the Yamal Peninsula and its offshore areas. Recent years in the region have seen a massive investment in the so-called Yamal project, a joint venture between Russian, French and Chinese companies, which includes a huge LNG plant, in operation since 2017.

The Yamal project is now being followed by the Arctic LNG-2, another major international joint venture, located in the neighbouring Gyda peninsula. It has an ambitious plan to cut the production costs by placing the LNG production plants offshore in the Gulf of Ob on so-called gravitybased structures (GBS). These reinforced concrete structures are built on a shipyard, towed to the intended location, and then sunk onto the seabed.

Arctic village transformed

Until recently, Belokamenka was a small village just north of Murmansk in the northwest corner of Russia. In 2017 it was chosen as the location for the new shipyard where the GBSs are to be built. This means a massive transformation in the area, covering more than 150 hectares. The shipyard will have two dry docks, each 400 x 175 m, the largest in Russia. Currently the construction site employs some 4,000 people.

The construction of pipe pile walls for the dry docks is performed by NK-Teplokhimmontazh and the drilling contractor Spetsfundament Plus. It involves the drilling of no less than a thousand piles, up to 32 metres deep, through sand and loam into the granite bedrock. Their tool of choice for this Down-the-Hole job is the large diameter Robit Steel Fist Casing System. Drilling work on dry dock #1 is now completed and will continue into 2020 on dry dock #2.

In 2022, the first GBS built in Belokamenka is expected to start its 1,600 km voyage, with the help of a powerful tugboat fleet, across the Barents Sea to its destination in the Gulf of Ob.

Robit and EuroDrilling Center forms a partnership to serve Swedish drillers

Posted on by Jari Silver

Based on agreement signed 1st of November, EuroDrilling Center will represent Robit and distribute all Robit products in Sweden. As a part of this agreement Robit becomes minority shareholder of EuroDrilling Center. We are committed to serve our Swedish customers through new partnership focused in drilling consumables. 

Tommi Lehtonen Robit Group CEO: “We are excited to create this new partnership to serve Swedish drilling industry with a combination of EuroDrilling Center’s experienced team combined with Robit’s high performance, wide offering and global capabilities. We have strong common ambition to contribute positively to Swedish Drilling Industry.”

Christer Wretman CEO of EuroDrilling Center: “Through this new partnership EuroDrilling Center will enter the market in a new stronger way. Now with full Robit’s Top hammer and Down the hole offering we’re able to serve drillers in all applications.

For more information contact:

Christer Wretman, Christer@eurodrilling.se

Tommi Lehtonen, tommi.lehtonen@robitgroup.com

Picture, from left: Tomi Sydänmaa, Regional Sales Manager, EMEA – Christer Wretman, CEO of EuroDrilling Center – Tommi Lehtonen, Robit Group CEO

Welcome to Las Vegas – Groundwater Week, 3-5 December!

Posted on by Jari Silver

Warmly welcome to the biggest groundwater industry event – Groundwater Week in Las Vegas, USA, between 3rd and 5th December 2019. You will find us at the booth N521.

Our team will introduce you the widest range of quality well drilling tools: DTH-hammers from 4” up to 12”, 4½”-12¾” pilot bits, ring bits (casing advanced and under reamer systems), DTH bits from 3” to 12”, rotary bits, drill pipes, shock absorbers, subs, check valves, hammer sleeves and accessories.

Robit products are specially designed to offer maximum reliability with cost-effective drilling in variable ground conditions.

Emission free sustainable green energy with Robit well drilling products!

Robit NGWA-team

The Mining Show

Posted on by Jari Silver

As the largest event of its kind, The Mining Show is back for a 12th year, once again bringing together the entire mining and quarrying ecosystem in Dubai, 5-6 November.

It’s the only regional event which will allow you to capitalise on the development and change in mining across the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.

Growing year on year, the event brings together the stakeholders leading key projects, the latest opportunities in mineral exploration, reformation of codes and regulations, and development of opportunities across several exciting countries.

Our Robit Team is delighted to introduce You the widest offering in drilling consumable offering. Come to visit us at our booth D61 and pick up our brand new catalogue for your upcoming investments. Let’s do it easier – save the cost of drilled meters!

Warmly welcome!

Welcome to FEM 2019 – 12th Fennoscandian Exploration and Mining Event

Posted on by Jari Silver

The biannual FEM, founded in 1998, brings together over thousand exploration and mining industry leaders, experts and researchers from almost 30 countries. Conference will be held between 29 and 31 October 2019 in Levi, Finland.

You will find us at the booth #C25.

Widen your network, do business, bring fresh ideas back to your company – and have fun!

Warmly welcome!

Robit Team