Atlas Copco: new structure to face the challenges of the future

Happen the months and the Spanish market does not show symptoms of recovery. It is more, as it signalled Jaime Huidobro, general director of TCM in Atlas Copco SAE, during the Press Day, “has produced a significant shrinking of the activity from the summer of 2011, being the minería the sector that is avoiding a greater fall”. This greater weight of the minería on the construction also gives to world-wide level for the group, since the first supposes 28% of his turnover whereas the second remains in 24%.

In front of this complex general panorama, Atlas Copco follows having like one of his main strategic lines the service postventa, explaining today in his structure with more mechanics that never and offering new formulas of assistance adapted to the needs of each customer.

Another of the last measures that has taken has been the reorganisation of his structure, integrating in the area of business of Technicians of Construction all the equipment related with power Transportable, that is to say power generators, portable compressesors and towers of lighting. With this decision has wanted to deepen in his aim to offer to the professional an integral range, that the customer of the construction can find in a same provider, nearer, the greater part of the equipment that requires in the work. In this area of business of Technicians of Construction, in addition to the products of Power Transportable, the catalogue is conformed by light equipment of compactación and hormigonado, implementos hydraulics of demolición, hydraulics manual tools (and his corresponding switchboards), pneumatics manual tools and all the big equipment of compactación, milling and extended of the mark Dynapac. Obviously, this area of business has his greater wallet of customers in the sectors of construction and public work and, to geographic level, in the European continent (37%), where the professionals appreciate in greater degree his advanced technology.

The organisation chart of Atlas Copco complete with a second area of Technical designated business of Minería and Excavation of Rocks, in which the minería has the greater weight to world-wide level with 60% of the turnover in front of 36% that has his origin in the construction (in Spain the difference is still greater).

Luis M. Busts, responsible of Technicians of Construction in Atlas Copco SAE, in addition to defining the new structure of this area of business, recalcó the innovative bet that comes developing the Group in matter of renewal of range. In this sense are launching constantly new models of tools of demolición silent, with innovations very stood out like the mordazas CC350 and CC950, as well as the new design of the pulverizadores. To do see clearly the provision of these and other equipment, Atlas Copco has an important destined fleet to demonstrations, that allows to the customers test the product before purchasing it.

Also is worthy to review the decision that has taken this area of business to change the external appearance of the range of compactación light of Dynapac to homogenise it to the image of the rest of light equipment of the Group, incorporating also in them marks it Atlas Copco.

Like another of the pillars of the area of Technical business of Construction, the heavy range of Dynapac has equally the innovation like one of his big strategic lines. The incorporation does some years of this mark to the structure of Atlas Copco has comported the continuous launching of new models. After the presentation in 2010 of new pneumatics rollers, new milling machines compact, new small and new tandems spreaders of orugas, the 2011 opened with the incorporation to the range of new spreaders of wheels and has closed with a new range of rollers compactadores of earths.

Francisca Cao, responsible of the range Dynapac in Spain, resumía in several points the advantages of these new versions that suppose already the fifth generation for Dynapac: big linear loads (50-65 kg/cm), better amplitudes, reduced levels of noise, under consumption of fuel, conditions of service improved, ergonomic cabins, better visibility of the surroundings of work, optimum manoeuvrability and high degree of security.

The new rollers, that will begin to supply regularly from next spring, present systems of control advanced (Software CompBase Dynapac and CompLogger), a very compact design, a transversal disposal of the engine, motorisations Tier IIIB (prepared for Tier 4) and a system of saving of fuel designated Best Point.

Continuing the round of presentations, Diego Moreno, like manager of Energy Transportable, in addition to reviewing all the range of products that represents, wanted incidir in three activities in which the compressors and the groups electrógenos enjoy still of a big potential of growth. Firstly in the big plants of generation, to cover the lack of electrical supply in uninhabited or remote zones. It is the case of the plant that has mounted Atlas Copco for a South African mine, in which it has employed nine generators of high power and a big tank of fuel to win in autonomy. The perforación supposes the second field of pointed work by Diego Moreno, where the compressors of Atlas Copco, with his technology DrillAirXpert (constant discharge and variation in the pressure) favour the saving in the consumption of fuel. And finally, the sector of Oil&Gas also offers a high potential for products like the booster when they require big indexes of compression, or the packages of generation of nitrogen.

The Spanish sector of the perforación of surfaces, as it indicated his manager in Atlas Copco SAE, Fernando Menéndez, has lived a situation during the 2011 of big weakness, with a lot of unemployed quarries, projects of public work limited and with a minería to open sky that keeps on being little notable in Spain. Fortunately, the Spanish contractors that operate in this market are very active to international level, especially in Sudamérica, and this allows to see the future with something of optimism. The two lines that have marked the performance of the division Perforación of Surfaces during the last months have been the new denomination of the range of cars of Atlas Copco in three big families (PowerRoc, FlexiRoc and SmartRoc) and the complete integration of the line of machacadoras Powercrushers (products affected by the low activity so much of the quarries as of the specialists of recycling).

To speak of the Subterranean Excavation in Rock (Underground Rock Excavation), had the manager of this activity in Atlas Copco SAE, Ignacio Hernáiz, the one who also defined the 2011 like a “bad year” for all the teams that conform this range: jumbos Boomer, teams of sostenimiento and saneo, teams of perforación of production, trucks of transport of low profile and shovels of low profile. To cover this descent of the sales, this division carries from the year 2007 offering also in rent his teams, having developed in these four years 87 agreements for hire. The automation of the minería, with examples like which already give in Chile, also offers opportunities of face to the future.

Of equal form had presence in the Presses Day, the division of Tools of Perforación (Rock Drill Tools), the one who through his manager Pepe Bottle resumió the last innovations launched by Secoroc. The most stood out is, definitely, the magic “technology” T Wiz that allows to adapters and bars obtain 30% more than length thanks to a greater resistance. Also it underlined the update that has followed the line of hammers TD to turn into the new range QLX, “more reliable, more productive and with a simpler maintenance and economic”. Finally, it informed of the launching of Edge, the first world-wide system of continuous monitoring that shows to the perforista what is doing the mouth at the bottom of the pozo. From Atlas Copco already has called him to this innovation “the sixth sense of the perforista”.

The Exploration and Geotecnia was another of the present divisions in the meeting with the Spanish press, a line of activity that follows with his strategy of diversification going in increasingly in other applications that do not have to see with the traditional of sustentación of tunnels. A clear example is the project of impermeabilización of Haystacks, where have entered 16 lines of injection, in addition to two boomer of perforación. The division explains besides with a new warehouse for autoperforantes in Catalonia and, of face to the Geotecnia, there are interesting projects to keep growing, as the ones of high enthalpy and the ones of storage of CO₂.

The Presses Day of Atlas Copco concluded with the intervention of the responsible of the division of Pieces and Services, José Antonio Ciutad, the one who stood out the importance that this activity has for the Group until the point to mark his big bastion of “differentiation”. The final aim is to offer a service that favour to keep relations on a long-term basis with the customers. For this has implanted a culture of performance based in eight promises, between which include for example sentences as “I promise to answer with prontitud” or “promise that I will add value to his operation”. To favour an attention based in the vicinity and adapted to each one of the needs of the diverse typologies of customers, Atlas Copco SAE has created in Spain networks of different service for each one of the ranges of product with which works, incidiendo more in SAT's, dealers, centres of service or mechanical as it was necessary. Like this, for example to attend to the plants of machaqueo and selection has a different  structure to which employs for the hydraulics hammers. Special quotation required the network of service for Portable Power in which they go on doing new designations and that it is entirely independent to which already exists of Gesan, manufacturer that in spite of his recent integration to the Group Atlas Copco follows having commercial own structure and of service.