Engineering & Mining Journal

JAN 2013

Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr

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BRAZILIAN GROWTH The Liebherr Brazil factory assembles mining class excavators (inset). These days it's also producing concrete trucks (foreground) for the oncoming Brazilian building frenzy. Vale's 2013 project execution budget, with major expenditures going toward iron ore projects in the Carajás region and in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Vale's global iron ore distribution network, including new ships, will also see significant spending. Discovering significant offshore oil and gas enabled the country to become one of the few energy self-sufficient countries in the world. Petrobrás, the giant state-owned oil company, recently disclosed its new investment program for the period between 2012 to 2016, which foresees $236.5 billion investment up to 2016. The Brazilian government is planning investments of $39 billion in the next five years, where highways will receive about $20 billion and the railways will receive $45 billion. Brazil generates most of its electricity from hydroelectric power plants. The National Interlinked System installed capacity be expanded from the 2010 existing 110,000 MW up to 171,000 MW by 2020. The energy transmission system extension, around 100,000 km in 2010, will be expanded to reach 142,000 km by 2020, that is the equivalent to 40% of the existing system will be built in the next 10 years. All of these investments will reinforce Brazil's status as one of the most advanced nations of the world. Liebherr Brasil During the 1974, Liebherr established a presence in Guaratinguetá, Brazil, an area halfway between the population centers of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janiero. Today, Liebherr Brasil GMO LTDA, not only takes responsibility for the sales and service activities of Liebherr's construction and mining equipment divisions for the Brazilian market and beyond, but has also assumed engineering and manufacturing duties for various product lines from different Liebherr divisions. "This trans-divisional approach to marketing and local production can also be understood as a blueprint for Liebherr's strategy of developing and intensifying its services for customers in emerging markets," said Klemens Stroebele, managing director, Liebherr Brasil. 82 E&MJ; • JANUARY 2013 The original factory complex was devoted to manufacturing ship and offshore cranes, and in 1976 the first Liebherr ship crane manufactured in Brazil was delivered to a local shipyard. From there, the factory began to produce tower cranes before moving into telescopic mobile cranes. During the 1980s, the factory turned its attention toward earthmoving and mining equipment. "In 2005, we not only intensified the production of large mining equipment but also extended our facilities with a modern production building suitable for the production of such large machines," Stroebele said. The Brazilian factory was much more than construction and mining equipment. Liebherr created a joint venture with the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer, primarily to produce landing gear, in 1999. Liebherr Aerospace Brasil Ltda. constructed a plant (also at the Guarantinguetá facility) to produce aircraft systems components for Liebherr's Aerospace and Transportation Systems division. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by fire in July 2011. "To fulfill our existing supply contracts, we improvised production in other buildings on our campus and transferred another part of the production including 100 local staff to the division's European facilities in Lindenberg, Friedrichshafen and Toulouse," Stroebele said. "The company re-started its regular manufacturing operations in a completely new building recently erected on the www.e-mj.com

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