Gulf Construction Online - Metso looks to expand in region

Manufacturers & Procurement

An LT96 ... the Lokotrack Urban series can do crushing jobs in urban regions.

Metso looks to expand in region

With its range of products for the rock and minerals processing, waste and metal recycling and process industries, Metso provides solutions that enable sustainable urban construction.

01 November 2019

Metso, a world-leading company offering equipment and services for the mining, aggregates, recycling and process industries, is looking at establishing new service capacities in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia as part of its expansion drive in the region, according to a senior official.

“We have a good plan in place on how to expand our presence in the Middle East either through our direct sales and service capacity or with the support of our established partner network in the region,” Saso Kitanoski, vice-president, East Europe and the Middle East, tells Gulf Construction.

Finland-based Metso has had a local presence in the Middle East for over 25 years and sees it as a potential growth region that is trying to diversify from its oil and gas dependent economy and develop other growth industries. The region is rich in mineral deposits and there is also strong demand for infrastructure development, and that makes it a good market for Metso’s proven products.

Metso’s HRC-800 high pressure grinding rolls at a quarry.

“Today, Metso has a lot of existing and potential customers in the area who we want to reach out to,” Kitanoski says, adding this is the primary reason why the company will be part of the Finnish Pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai next year, where it will present the latest technologies for processing natural resources sustainably.

Metso is focused on providing solutions that enable sustainable urban construction. Increasing urbanisation means more houses, parks, roads, harbours and airports need to be built in or near cities using sustainably produced rock and sand as a basic building component. At the same time, demand for economic and efficient ways to crush rock for sand to produce concrete is growing, as natural sand deposits near growth centres are being depleted and environmental regulations are getting stricter, the company points out.

To address the logistical challenges and transportation costs of urban construction, Metso says it is increasingly necessary for crushing to be undertaken closer to actual construction sites. Simultaneously, environmental and safety regulations are making crushing within cities more tightly controlled. In addition, the need to crush and recycle demolished construction waste and road-building material like asphalt is increasing.

To tackle these challenges, Metso offers a range of sustainable solutions for the rock and minerals processing, waste and metal recycling, and process industries – many of which will be showcased at Expo 2020.

Metso is a key partner of the Finnish Pavilion and will enjoy visibility while having sole use of the second-floor VIP area for five days of the six-month-long Expo Dubai event.

Metso’s Barmac B series vertical shaft impact crushers.

“At Expo 2020 Dubai, Metso will present a wide scope of innovative solutions for the rock and minerals processing, waste and metal recycling, and process industries,” says Yoann Mercier, regional manager, sales and services, Middle East, Metso. “Metso’s solutions are designed to provide sustainable productivity for industries dealing with natural and recycled resources. The company’s solutions are used around the world and by major companies in the Middle East.”

On the aggregates side, Metso will target its main customer segments including aggregates and cement producers, quarries and construction companies in the region. For this customer segment, Metso provides market-leading mobile, portable and stationary plants, crushers and screens, spare and wear parts, and services. The game-changing Lokotrack Urban series mobile crushers, which enable crushing and demolition waste recycling operations even in highly populated areas, is one of the key solutions and will be part of Metso’s story at the Expo, Mercier says.

The Lokotrack Urban series is among the latest additions to Metso’s mobile range. “It is very popular and becoming the new standard for Europe, as well as in other markets. We are now starting our offering of this range to the Middle East and are sure that we’ll see soon these state-of-the-art units in the region too,” he adds.

The Lokotrack Urban series, a range of jaw crushing plants for the primary crushing stage, enables crushing of rock and construction and demolition (C&D) waste within urban regions and address the environmental regulations regarding noise and dust control.

These mobile jaw crushing plants with noise and dust covers provide noise encapsulation while offering all the features of traditional crushers. They come in transportable dimensions and offer a life span of up to 30 years, according to Juhamatti Heikkilä, manager, product safety, crushing and screening equipment at Metso Minerals, Metso’s minerals business.

“The series features state-of-the-art technology. It reduces transport costs and increases profitability as it enables onsite crushing,” he says.

Lokotrack Urban Series mobile crushing and screening plants – available in outputs ranging from 100 to 600 tph – provide the ability to perform crushing even in the most heavily regulated urban environments. Models currently offered include the LT96, LT106, LT106S, LT120, LT120E and LT130E.

Heikkilä points out that by crushing on site, contractors can minimise or even eliminate the need to transport aggregates to, and waste materials away from, the work site. This means a faster process, lower costs and less emissions.

The noise and dust encapsulation features of Lokotrack Urban Series mobile crushing plants are designed in such a way that they do not compromise the transport dimensions, ease of maintenance, or safe operation of the plant.

Metso is active in 52 countries around the world and its global sales in 2018 were about €3.2 billion ($3.5 billion). More than 50 per cent of the company’s sales comes from mining, with other business sectors being aggregates (26 per cent), recycling including construction waste (four per cent) and process industries (19 per cent).

The Middle East and Africa accounted for some eight per cent of its sales last year, according to Mercier.

Metso, which has had a local presence in the Middle East since 1993, has four offices in the region – Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, Doha in Qatar, and Dammam in Saudi Arabia – and currently employs around 50 persons in the region. Cone and mobile crushers are among its most popular products.

The most popular Metso crushers used in the Middle East are the Metso Nordberg HP and GP cone crusher series as well as the Metso Nordberg C jaw crusher series paired with Metso’s premium range of screens.

“Our mobile equipment are also doing very well in the region: the Metso Lokotrack LT1213S is, by far, the most popular and most sold mobile crusher in the Middle East. The mining industry, as such, is mainly dominated by the Metso Nordberg MP cone crushers and the heavy-duty Metso screens range,” Mercier elaborates.

Its customers in the region comprise all the major mines, rock and aggregate producers, as well as oil and gas companies and include Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) to which it has provided crushers, Saudi Aramco to which it is supplying valves, and Metals Corner in Saudi Arabia; Stevin Rock (quarry operator) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) in the UAE; and Shell Qatar Pearl GTL (gas-to-liquids) in Qatar.

Metso employs over 14,000 people in more than 50 countries. In July this year, its minerals business Metso Minerals and Outotec announced plans to combine their operations to form Metso Outotec, a new company which will have a comprehensive end-to-end portfolio across comminution, beneficiation, metals refining, recycling and energy.