In the spring of 2007 Sandvik acquired two British manufacturers of mobile crushing and screening equipment: Extec Screens and Crushers Ltd, near Birmingham, England, and Fintec Crushing and Screening Ltd, close to Belfast, Ireland.

As leaders in the design and manufacture of mobile crushing and screening equipment, including consumables and services to the international construction industry, Extec and Fintec have allowed Sandvik to add mid-size and light equipment to its customer offering, positioning it to become an even stronger supplier in a rapidly growing industry.

Managing Director Kauko Juuri states “These acquisitions have opened up new customer segments for all parties. Sandvik will bring its global network with access to quarry and mining customers. Extec and Fintec bring access to contractor customers and a competitive product line of tracked mobile crushers and screens.  Extec and Fintec also benefit from Sandvik's global resources and technical know-how. Sandvik brings advanced crusher and screener product technology combined with excellent process knowledge.

A key part of this syngery is the development of core products through the know how of the two parts.  Juuri adds “we are introducing two new mobile cone crusher plants equipped with cone technology that many customers consider to be the best in the world. For example, the new Fintec 1080 track-mounted cone crusher system combines Fintec's track-mounted chassis designs with Sandvik’s quality crushing equipment. The 1080's cone plant features a Sandvik CH430 crusher, developed with the Sandvik cubical shape crushing technique.
In addition, Fintec and Extec have taken on several Sandvik corporate policies and guidelines, such as Fair Play, which takes not only financial goals into account but also environmental and social responsibility when making business decisions.”

Duncan McGregor, Sales and Marketing Director, echoes Juuri's sentiments that the biggest customer advantages of bringing Fintec and Extec together under Sandvik are its global presence, in particular worldwide distribution, and improved aftermarket support.  He explains that mobile crushing equipment has come a long way in the last ten years: “What used to be impossible to achieve with mobile equipment is now possible. The contractor segment, complete with its own special business logic, has become a major part of the materials processing business all over the world as the contractor business follows a business logic very well matched by a distribution logic, and we need to understand how to serve this segment in an excellent way.”

Sandvik has the right background to address the needs of this particular customer segment. “The traditional business where Sandvik is particularly well aligned consists of customers who are not contractors; they own and sell minerals, whether for construction materials or for what they are worth in terms of content. This is a new area of development for the acquired businesses but quite normal for the heavier range from Sandvik Rock Processing, for example,” says McGregor.

Despite Fintec and Extec's well-established reputations, Sandvik has chosen to unify its mobile crusher and screen range under a single brand, signified by new model nomenclature and machine colours. “Going to one brand increases customer awareness of Sandvik's full offering. Branding and segment strategy helps Sandvik to improve and broaden the services to a variety of customers by using the wider breadth of our organisation,” explains Juuri.

The 18 model mobile crushing and screening equipment line-up will sport a stunning new livery and carry the code “Q” to differentiate them from other products in Sandvik’s comprehensive machine portfolio.  The new nomenclature will focus on the inherent quality of the product line, and will be identified by a striking new Sandvik-style machine livery, and by a new product nomenclature that prefixes each model number with the letter Q and whch also identifies the type of crusher.   As an example, the world-renowned Extec C-12+ crusher becomes the Sandvik QJ340 (Q for Quality, J for Jaw) while the Fintec 542 screen changes to the Sandvik QA330 (Q for Quality, A for Sizing Screen).