Battery-electric vehicle demand is at the core of Sandvik’s move to create a new load and haul factor in Malaysia.

The project, for which the company is set to invest SEK 350 million (US$32.6 million) over three years, will take up 445 hectares at the Sendayan TechValley business park, south of the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. The factory is also 90 kilometers southeast of Port Klang, Malaysia’s largest seaport.

The new production unit will manufacture underground loaders and trucks as well as battery cages, and conventional equipment will also be produced there. The start of production is scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year after factory upgrades and other site improvements.

Spanning more than 8,000 metres, it will have 15 versatile assembly bays. Production ramp-up will begin later this year with Toro LH517i loaders followed by Toro LH518iB, Sandvik’s newly-announced automation-ready battery-electric loader, in 2Q24.

“Malaysia is among the most technologically developed countries in Southeast Asia and has abundant skilled labor, strong local industrial suppliers and reliable infrastructure,” Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions president Mats Eriksson.

Patricio Apablaza, president of Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions’ Load and Haul division, added: “Demand for our loaders and trucks is exceeding our current production capacity at our existing factories. The establishment of our new production unit in Malaysia will enable flexible manufacturing of both conventional diesel and battery-electric mining equipment.”

Source: rocktechnology.sandvik