Sandvik Mining & Rock Technology India: Robust & Reliable Tunnelling Jumbos
What trends do you foresee in the market for Sandvik tunnelling equipment and technology?
Manojit Haldar - Managing Director and President, Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology India Pvt. Ltd.We are very optimistic about the growth in the Tunnelling sector - be it tunnelling in Roads, Railways, Hydro, or Border Roads. We see a potential market of 40-50 machines year on year in the next 5-6 years, but the market is still price sensitive.
Our customers have seen the benefits of using Sandvik machines with semi-automatic and fully automatic features in reducing the overall costs or in optimizing the costs for fixing the over-breaks or under-breaks. We use these technologies for increasing the drilling accuracy.
What solutions does your company offer to help contractors finish projects efficiently and on schedule?
Making robust and reliable tunnelling jumbos - be it the conventional hydraulic jumbos, the semi-automatic, or the fully automatic, Sandvik machines are helping customers in reducing their machine downtime, managing their operational costs by giving onsite maintenance support, and timely availability of parts.
Knowing the strata well in advance using Geo Sure in our fully automatic jumbos is an important development by Sandvik; it helps customers to plan and align their planning according to the strata and take corrective measures well in advance.
Please highlight some tunnelling projects where Sandvik machines helped complete the project on time.
The highest power on rock drills offered by Sandvik in the market, drilling accuracy, and data driven productivity are helping customers complete the projects well ahead of their timelines. Some recent examples include the Adit Tunnel at RVNL Rishikesh to Karnprayag project, which was completed 6 months ahead of the schedule; the Sela Pass tunnel that used our hydraulic jumbos, and the Rewa Road Tunnel using our semi automatic jumbos.
What operator training does Sandvik provide?
We are setting up simulators in different parts of the country to train operators, and are also collaborating with engineering colleges to spread knowledge on tunnelling jumbos to the students and increase their employability. Sandvik is also facilitating advanced training on operational skills for faster and accurate drilling.
