EPIROC Celebrating 60 years of building a strong India

Epiroc’s journey in India started 60 years ago as the (former) mining division of Atlas Copco. Under the patronage of India’s first prime minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the company, in 1960, opened a sales office and brought its Swedish expertise into the country. And in the same year, its mining and construction verticals demerged from its parent company, to form Epiroc. Today, Epiroc machines are being used for mining coal, iron, limestone for cement, underground metal, and dimension stones.

Said Jerry Andersson, Managing Director, Epiroc Mining India, “On 28 January 2020 we completed 60 years in India, which is a huge milestone for any company. To be a leader in the domain and maintain a top position with continuous innovation, commitment and collaboration for so long, is indeed noteworthy. We have planned many initiatives on various fronts, which will be rolled out this year - internally and externally - and which will further propel Epiroc’s growth in India.”

“Over the last 60 years, our machines have contributed towards strengthening the foundation of India’s growth. As we take stock of our heritage and our current projects, we are proud to say that Epiroc India is building a stronger and better India,” commented Prem Madhavan, G.M., Drilling Tools. “India is a very important market for us, and we are investing regularly in our Nashik and Hyderabad facilities. The Epiroc Group is also very satisfied with the return on investments from this market. We are confident that our future growth along with India’s will continue to be promising as we form even bigger partnerships with the country.”

Epiroc India is involved in the construction of rail and road tunnels, hydropower and irrigation projects, oil cavern excavations and production of aggregate quarry in many parts of India. Said Arvind Patil, G.M, Epiroc, Products Division, “From manufacturing small products to highly sophisticated products, Epiroc has experienced huge growth in India. We have always adopted new technologies and adhered to all the norms and ethics for maintaining sustainability, safety, employee engagement, and the growth and development of our company. There is a growing need for infra development in India and we are optimistic of a bright future ahead, both for our company and for India.”

Added Chandra Rao, G.M., CMTEC, “Epiroc is a great company with a strong leadership and over 300 highly motivated employees. We have forged a close relationship with our customers over the years. India offers a lot of opportunities for infra development and seeing the potential for our products and solutions we are anticipating a lot of growth ahead.”

“Epiroc has given every employee tremendous flexibility to work, learn and grow as a professional, and give their best to the company,” added Milind Athalye, Corporate HR Manager. “Epiroc is a customer-centric and an employee centric organization and has always followed the best practices and policies and good governance for the betterment of the company and its people,” he said.

Mukesh Chaturvedi, Business Line Manager-PC Surface and Exploration Drilling, informed that Epiroc will continue to develop products, which will give higher productivity, and will introduce new solutions for precision drilling. The company’s Speed Rock 2FA, Speed Rock IF D30, and Speed Rock 2F for quarrying and mining applications are designed to give precise drilling of 32 to 40 mm; they have smart hydraulics and can undertake drilling to the desired depth and diameter. With lifters to place the boom, they require less manpower during operations.

“The digital ‘Smart Rock Concept’ enables precision during drilling and the operators can gauge the performance of the equipment along with the amount of drilling done. We are well equipped to cater to the various quarry applications with our Air Rock operator-assisted drills, Power Rock direct hydraulic assisted drills, Flexi Rock hydraulic-electric assisted drills, and Smart Rock electric hydraulic assisted drills. Our products in the future will be even more technically advanced and will give more ease of maintenance and operations,” he added.