What is the core focus of Metso in Chile and what products and services do you provide to the Chilean market?

Chile and South America are important markets for us because we are involved in most of the major crushing projects in the region. Metso also provides a variety of mineral processing products. We have a strong market share in mills, filtration and crushing products. In terms of services, we develop tailored engineering for our clients. We opened two equipment repair centers in Antofagasta and Arequipa a few years ago. There are two plants that manufacture the lining of the machines in the region and all underground crushing protections are provided by Metso.

How do Metso´s products and services help facilitate greater operational efficiency?

Our clients demand optimization from an economic standpoint and from a resource consumption perspective. The mining industry has increasingly focused on more sustainable and efficient projects in terms of energy and cost. We take these customer requirements seriously and develop new technology that solves these issues. One example is our vertical mill, which manages to efficiently process minerals with 25% less energy. Metso has started to implement equipment that conserves energy and water in the filtering process. For this reason, we are developing new roller crusher technology that increases energy efficiency and serves a double bottom line in that is has a great ecological impact and major economic value. Optimization processes are a critical factor in the price of copper production and generate benefits for the entire community. Metso is building a performance center that will improve processes and establish maximum efficiency through technology.

Mining has become increasingly complex and competitive. All projects have had lower percentages of mineral extraction. This means that companies must optimize their processes in order to achieve lower costs. A higher percentage of effective treatment is achieved with our new equipment and this helps reduce costs. We have had to maximize the capacity of the equipment to improve the unit cost.

How do you maintain your market share in crushing? What are some other areas in which you are looking to grow your market share?

Customers will continue to buy the most efficient equipment. Our strategy is to continue developing products and to make optimization improvements. There are areas where we can still create very attractive products, so we are working on the development of other product lines in mineral processing.

How do you see the dynamics of the Chilean mining market moving forward?

Metso is closely linked with the mining industry and the region has grown a lot in recent years. We have grown every year. Our business structure is based on equipment but also on services. Our development in services has been positive and we expect that to continue. We made important acquisitions this year and this has given us strong growth and positioned us well for the future.

How does the acquisition of Outotec improve Metso’s positioning in the market?

Metso considers this to be a merging of capabilities more than an acquisition. Metso is very strong in the process of crushing and processing of dry minerals and Outotec is more focused on the wet processing segment of mining. This union makes a lot of sense and it allows us to combine equipment and processes. This is a very good way to grow.

What does Metso want to achieve in the next two years and what are the biggest challenges you must overcome?

We would like to solidify our positioning as the number one company in the coming years and continue to be validated by our customers. We want to introduce new products with new technology that allows us to continue developing our presence in the region. Chile is one of the most important mining regions.

One of our biggest challenges is having the right workforce to sustain the development and growth we are looking for. New products require training and we have a workforce of 3,000 in Chile, so we opened a training centre that has allowed us to develop and train our people locally. We seek the highest safety standards in our factories and in the technical personnel in the field and our aim is to continue to develop our people.