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

Thank You for visiting us at Underground Operators Conference 2021, Perth, Australia!

It was our pleasure to meet our old and upcoming customers.

Highlights of the event:

• Underground Operators Conference is held every 2 years (2020 was postponed to 2021 due to COVID)
• Over 1200 physical attendees, about 150 virtual delegates
• A selection of physical and virtual presentations from around Australia and Overseas
• Robit booth was very well attended with a lot of interest in the Robit products
• Robit raised funds for a not for profit charity, Miners’ Promise totalling $1,200

Stay safe!

Robit Team from left: Steve Tedge, Business Development Manager – Steve Landreth, VP Australasia – Annemaree Holman, Business Development Manager

Robit collaborates very closely with its distributors to meet every end-user’s demands and expectations. Thus, continuous and up-to-date product and after sales trainings are essential parts of the co-operation between Robit and its distributors.

During COVID-19 pandemic, Robit has further intensified communication with its distributors by using a variety of modern communication tools. In this context, Robit has developed completely new and permanent operating methods that allow to communicate more closely with the distributors. As an example to this, Robit distributors were provided with a Top Hammer training instructed by Jorge Leal, VP Top Hammer. The remote training session took place last week and was held in three consecutive days for different time zones and language groups. The intensive training sessions featuring presentations and dialogue were successful and fruitful both for Robit and its valued distributors.

POSITION AND MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES AT ROBIT

My position within Robit is as the VP for Down the Hole products (DTH). My role is to manage the strategic business area (SBA), which is focused on the Drill & Blast DTH Hammers and Bits in our offering with responsibility also for Drill Pipe, Rotary Bits along with other accessories. I am responsible for global sales growth within the SBA, focusing on key target regions, driving the ambitious growth plans for this specific business unit.

Robit has long been regarded as a supplier of quality drilling equipment, my role is to ensure Robit establishes it’s self as a truly recognized global supplier for DTH products, providing market leading products, support and drilling solutions for our customers.                  

I am based in the UK, but I work closely with the group head office in Tampere Region, Finland and the Perth, Australia production facility, which specializes in the manufacture of the mining Drill & Blast range of DTH equipment.

EXPERIENCE ON THE FIELD

I have been involved with DTH products for the last 10 years. My educational background was in Engineering and remains a key passion of mine.  This is where I began my career in the DTH industry before moving onto other roles overseeing manufacturing operations and providing technical sales support. My experience has been hands-on in many global regions and I have been involved in applications from Drill & Blast, Geotechnical, Water Well, Construction, Oil & Gas and Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling.  In more recent times, I have been responsible for the sales development of the DTH products within Robit before undertaking the new role as VP for Down the Hole products.

KEY MARKET TRENDS ON THE FIELD FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS

Over the next few years, reduced operational costs, improved efficiency and availability remain key for our customers and drill contractors. Robit’s commitment to continuous improvement and product development ensures we provide our customers with tools in line with their requirements.  Robit’s commitment to providing the “best in class” DTH Bit will continue to reduce overall drilling costs by ensuring a longer product life. A renewed Drill Bit offering is to be released imminently, which includes additional bit sizes, face designs and bit shank choices.

New DTH Hammer product releases throughout 2021 and beyond will also improve operational efficiencies for our customers.  These product releases kick-off later this year with the full release of the tubeless (footvalve-less) range, targeted at customers drilling in the most demanding applications.

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

All product development initiatives are led by market trends or customer requirements.  Furthermore, product testing and validations are carried out in conjunction with the support from our customers of which the product has been designed for. Many ongoing actions are carried out in order to support our customers with ensuring the correct availability of products globally and to ensure a consistent quality of Robit’s tools.  Our complete product offering ensures we have the availability to deliver a full scope of quality drilling consumables to our customers from DTH, Top Hammer, Rotary and Drill Pipe.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, travel and visit restrictions have resulted in difficulties with providing face-to-face support in some regions.  This has not just been limited to international travel, regional travel and visits have also been impacted. For this reason, we were quick to roll out a process of providing remote technical support in 2020 and we are extending this support offer throughout 2021 and the coming years.  This has had a benefit of directly connecting end-users with the Robit technical support staff.  The level of communication has been of true benefit, particularly when carrying out field trials or troubleshooting.

Further to this we have an ongoing commitment to provide DTH training and support for our distributor partners and customers. This is in the form of training modules, troubleshooting guides and service videos for the Robit DTH Equipment.  Later this year we will also provide face-to-face training sessions focusing on region specific applications and equipment, all dates are yet to be confirmed due to the current travel restrictions.

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

This year is an exciting time for Robit and the Down the Hole SBA in particular.  The product development work that has been carried out over the last 12 months is starting to show extremely good results, increased manufacturing capacity and improved product availability actions have been put in place and we are seeing the benefits of this work already.  We have many tender and testing opportunities already planned for 2021 and I am expecting a positive outcome based on our performance and success over the past six months.  In recent times, our equipment has been out-performing our competition – offering increases over 30% of operational life when using Robit tools. This allows our customers and drill contractors to have a competitive cost per meter whilst receiving the quality service, support, and availability from Robit sales regions and partners.  As COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions relax, we are excited to once again meet face-to-face with our distributor partners, drill contractors and mining customers ensuring we drive the growth.

For more information: Adam Baker, firstname.lastname@robitgroup.com

 

Read more Robit ProTALK interviews:

• George Apostopoulos, VP Global Sales
• Jorge Leal, VP Top Hammer
• Kari Alenius, VP Finland
• 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

AusIMM’s Underground Operators Conference 2021 will set the benchmark for sharing underground operational experiences and industry best practice.

Delivered both in person and online, the outstanding technical conference will feature three internationally recognised keynotes and over 45 technical presentations. The program will cover key discussion topics on process transformation, innovative mining methods and practices, health and safety, revolutionising the traditional mine and much more.

This is an incredible opportunity to join the conversation with international industry professionals to discuss important changes and solutions for the future of underground mining.

AusIMM and the Conference Committee look forward to welcoming you to AusIMM’s flagship conference in March 2021.

You will find us at our booth #72 on 15-17 March 2021, Perth, Australia.

Warmly welcome, Robit Team

Robit Plc’s Annual Report, Corporate Governance Statement and Remuneration Report for the year 2020 have today been published in Finnish and English in PDF format on the company’s website at https://www.robitgroup.com/investor/financial-information/.

The Annual Report contains the Board of Directors’ Review and the Financial Statements 2020. The Financial Statements includes Consolidated Financial Statements, Robit Plc’s Parent Company Statements and the Auditor’s Report.

Please read the report: Robit Plc Annual Report 2020

POSITION AND MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES AT ROBIT

My position in Robit is VP Top Hammer. This is a role focusing on the Top Hammer business globally in the company. The concentration is in driving growth and profitability across the regions to achieve the target levels in accordance with company’s growth strategy.

Offering, stocks and service level are day to day topics, which are in a central role in working towards the targets. The ambition is high for Top Hammer, and we have a solid base to become a key player worldwide with our excellent products.

EXPERIENCE ON THE FIELD

I started my Robit career in 2011, and I have always been involved in sales. Throughout the years there have been rather enriching phases. As an example, back in 2011 we only had our Finnish premises and our recently acquired South Korean factory. All other markets and distribution management was taken care from Finland and South Korea. A key milestone in my Robit career was the opening and ramp-up of our Robit SAC company in Peru, which was very rewarding personal experience. Throughout this timeline, perhaps due to the markets, I have been mainly concentrated in developing the Top Hammer know-how much more than other product lines, which made it very natural for me to take the SBA Top Hammer role.

Visiting the customer operation is the key to develop know-how skills. I would like to encourage everybody – of course safety first and hopefully this would be soon again possible to do so – to travel to support the distributors and customers on the jobsite.

KEY MARKET TRENDS ON THE FIELD FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS

Top Hammer SBA has a great possibility to grow significantly in the next few years. When speaking to our customers, productivity is the main key market trend that I would like to highlight in our business area. More than ever, customers are interested on this topic and how we can help them to improve this. By listening to our customers, and always thinking how we can generate value to them, I am confident that our offering will develop even further to address those needs.

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

We are committed to deliver the “best in class” button bits to our customers. The Rbit^TM is one of the many ongoing actions that we are taking forward to address our customer needs. We will continue to focus on the development of our offering, but at the same time we will emphasize our distribution strategy so that we can secure reliable and solid position for the coming growing time. Our new sales areas are more focused than ever, so this means that our connection with our distributors and customers will be strengthened and developed. Training of our own personnel, distributors and customers is the key element of the ongoing actions.

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

I see a great opportunity for Robit, to consolidate and take a step forward in the Top Hammer segment. Our company has been gradually gaining market share into the mining segment. We are stepping into the bigger leagues as we are having top customers such as Norilsk Nickel, CODELCO, Agnico Eagle Finland to mention some. Other key areas as Australia, West and Central Africa are also ramping up also into the mining segments, which will surely deliver excellent results for this 2021.

For more information: Jorge Leal, firstname.lastname@robitgroup.com

 

Read more Robit ProTALK interviews:

• George Apostopoulos, VP Global Sales
• Adam Baker, VP Down The Hole
• Kari Alenius, VP Finland
• 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

POSITION AND MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES AT ROBIT

My role is VP Global Sales & Marketing and as implied I am responsible for growing the Robit Group sales across the world. We have recently re-organized our company structure to have stronger focus on driving our growth in selected key areas. In parallel, three (3) distinct Strategic Business Areas have been created to develop each product line’s competitiveness, growth, and profitability; these are Top Hammer, Down the Hole and Geotechnical.

We also need to make sure that we do portray a solid, consistent, and professional image to the outside world therefore our marketing activities are coordinated accordingly.

EXPERIENCE ON THE FIELD

My experience on the field spans some 20 years. Started working with Atlas Copco in Greece as a Business Manager for the Construction & Mining Technique business area back in 2001. Moved to Ghana, West Africa in 2006 at the General Manager of the operation. A very interesting and minerals rich region where mining is the focus. We expanded the business well as we started companies and subsidiaries in Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Cameroun. In 2014, the Central Asian challenge was next. Based in Kazakhstan with a six (6) countries responsibility, we managed to ‘weather’ the recession at the time and started growing the business significantly again by gaining market share.

KEY MARKET TRENDS ON THE FIELD FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS

The ongoing pandemic has developed the markets to be more volatile than usual and I believe this will be the new norm. This means we should as a Group be extremely pro-active and agile. The mining business is more stable and resilient as we seem to be in another metals prices super-cycle however construction looks ‘slow’ now. There are opportunities in both sectors, and we must be close to benefit the most we could.

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

Robit tries to stay as close as possible to our distributors and eventually the end users of our products. We support with product and application training, we conduct product trials and prove our worth on the field, respond quickly to filed issues and ensure that our products do get the deserved recognition in the market.

Our distributors across the world are the key for us and we want to have the best distributor management concept in the market; this would ensure continuous support for them and their customers.

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

We take advantage of the current, limited travel opportunity and fine tune our re-organized sales structure. In other words, we are getting ready for the time that the pandemic eases or is over so that we can again travel and be close to our distributors, partners, and end users for the necessary support.

Our strategy is based on growth, we are a growth company, and this is our main expectation. We want to grow our dealer network and together with them gain market share account by account, a simple and proven method. 

For more information: George Apostolopoulos, firstname.lastname@robitgroup.com

 

Read more Robit ProTALK interviews:

• Jorge Leal, VP Top Hammer
• Adam Baker, VP Down The Hole
• Kari Alenius, VP Finland
• 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

Robit and Agnico Eagle have signed a long-term cooperation agreement of drilling consumables supply to Kittilä mine. The deliveries start on 1 May 2021. Robit has previously supplied diamond button bits to Kittilä mine for production drilling. Thus, the mine and conditions are familiar to Robit.

Tommi Lehtonen, CEO of Robit Group: ”We are happy to start this cooperation, which is a result of a long-time work and is an important reference to the company. It is also an investment to domestic market. We are excited of this collaboration, which in addition to product supply offers an opportunity to develop our products together with one of the leading mining companies.”

Jari Kolehmainen, Production Manager at Kittilä mine, Agnico Eagle Finland Oy: “We are delighted with this agreement and expecting a long-term and close collaboration. Together we have an opportunity to develop drilling consumables e.g. diamond button bits and Sense Systems products to serve customer needs even better.”

On the photo from left to right: Jari Kolehmainen (Production Manager at Kittilä mine, Agnico Eagle Finland), Kimmo Kangas (Sales Manager Finland, Robit), Janne Saukko (General Supervisor at Kittilä mine, Agnico Eagle Finland), Kari Alenius (VP Finland, Robit).

Kittilä mine is the largest gold mine in Europe. The mine extracts annually about 1.6 million tonnes of ore, yielding about 7 000 kg of gold. At current production volumes, the mine’s known ore reserves are expected to produce gold until 2034. The mine life could be extended, depending on the results of exploration. Kittilä mine provides jobs for about 500 employees and about 800 contractor personnel. Further information: www.agnicoeagle.fi.

Robit is a strongly internationalized growth company servicing global customers and selling drilling consumables for applications in underground and surface mining, construction, geotechnical and well drilling. The company’s offering is divided into two product and application groups: Top Hammer, Down the Hole and Geotechnical. Robit has own sales and service points in 8 countries as well as an active sales network in over 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.

Further information:

Tommi Lehtonen
CEO of Robit Group, tommi.lehtonen@robitgroup.com

Jari Kolehmainen
Production Manager at Kittilä mine, Agnico Eagle Finland Oy, jari.kolehmainen@agnicoeagle.com

Robit^® Rbit™ AR Application

Please download Robit^® Rbit™ AR Application for your smartphone to present new series for your customer. You can demonstrate new features without carrying bits in your pockets. Applications will be found with “Robit Rbit” title:

After installing the software in your smart phone you have two options to use it:

With Physical (needs marker print and real button bit) or Virtual mode.

Virtual mode:

Scan flat surface and point the grid to place virtual Rbits in to scanned surface.

On the top menu you can rotate Rbits and make flow of flushing and cuttings visible.

Link for robitgroup.com media bank to get the latest brocures, e.g. Robit^® Rbit™ Series.

From the “Feature” menu you can visualize Rbits’ new innovations:

New transition face ensuring better energy transfer

• Transition face with rounded edges enables better flushing design and optimized button layout
  ⇒ New functionality of the bit

Optimized button layout maximizing rock contact

• Smart button configuration
  ⇒ Optimized rock breaking dynamics

Wider flushing grooves allowing better flow of cuttings

• Improved flushing
  ⇒ Maximized flushing efficiency

Physical mode:

Place a specific marker image A (printed on the paper) on to a flat surface and place the physical Rbits on the marker B with help of virtual alignment bits. Use menu to hide the adjustment bits.

A.

B.

On the top menu you can make flow of flushing and cuttings visible.

For more information, please contact Mr. Jorge Leal, VP Top Hammer, firstname.lastname@robitgroup.com

Our customers already know the great quality of our Top Hammer Button Bits. However, we took up the challenge of making our bits even better. All our button bits have been manufactured with recyclable 100% Green Steel. Consistent top quality is guaranteed by fully automated production lines. Rbit™ are finalized with eco-friendly water-based paint. As a result, we have created the Rbit™.

With the Rbit™, our commitment is to help our customers to reduce the total drilling costs by achieving faster rate of penetration and the lowest cost-per-meter. The Rbit™ features:

• An optimized button layout configuration of the Flat Face, to ensure maximized rock contact and energy transmission.
• A new transition face was developed in both Flat Face and Drop Center to improve the transfer of percussion energy into the rock.
• Enhanced flushing design, now available in our Flat Face and Drop Center models, delivering even faster rate of penetration.
• Redesigned wider retrac grooves, that allow more space delivering a better flow for the cuttings.
• Heavy Duty models are now available in both Flat Face and Drop Center.

All of our new high quality Rbit™ drill bits, have been designed with state of the art Computer Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation. Moreover, field tests globally have demonstrated clear evidence of a superior drilling performance which our technical simulation had already guaranteed (refer chart below). Our partner drillers were happy with the excellent performance and noted better flushing and longer grinding intervals with the new Rbit™ drill bits. Robit products are developed in the challenging rock conditions of Scandinavia and have a proven record globally. With Robit’s new Rbit™, we have found yet another way to deliver excellence to our customers worldwide.

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation images show the efficient flushing properties of new Rbit™ series.

Robit® Rbit™ Series – New Innovations

1. New transition face ensuring better energy transfer

• Transition face with rounded edges enables better flushing design and optimized button layout → New functionality of the bit

2. Optimized button layout maximizing rock contact

• Smart button configuration → Optimized rock breaking dynamics

3. Wider flushing grooves allowing better flow of cuttings

• Improved flushing → Maximized flushing efficiency

You can watch the video at our Youtube channel: Robit Rbit™ Series

Please download the catalogue: Robit Rbit™ Series catalogue

Pioneers for Mining Trading, Oman, has signed a distributor contract with Robit in December 2020. Company operates from Ajman, UAE and is the sister company of Robit’s current distributor, Pioneers for Mining Trading, Jordan. This new distributor contract with Pioneers for Mining Trading, Oman, will cover Oman, Kuwait and Qatar while parent company Pioneers for Mining Trading, Jordan, continues to distribute to Jordan and Iraq.

In the picture: Mr. Zaid Fakhouri, Deputy Executive Chairman, Pioneers for Mining Trading

The latest issue of Robit’s customer magazine Bulletin has been published! 2/2020 issue features articles i.a.: “Robit & BIA: a powerful partnership” and “World’s #1 copper producer chooses Robit”.  Read the magazine here:  Bulletin 2/2020