Sandvik Mining and Construction and Shandong Energy Machinery Co. have signed an agreement to form a 50/50 owned joint venture for the production and sales of coal mining equipment. Following customary regulatory approvals, the JV is expected to be finalized within 6 months. It is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2011 and will be fully consolidated in the Sandvik reporting. A subsidiary of Xinwen Mining group, Shandong Energy Machinery is focused on designing and manufacturing equipment for the Chinese underground coal mining market; as such, the JV will focus on sourcing, assembly, sales and service of roadheaders for the large Chinese coal mining market. Sandvik will contribute product know-how and technology while Shandong Energy Machinery will provide local sourcing skills and customer application knowledge. Initially, the focus will be on supplying roadheaders to Shandong Energy Machinery’s mother company, Xinwen Mining group, but the ultimate goal of the JV is to become the leading premium roadheader supplier to the Chinese coal mining market.
