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 original site. Today this company, with a labor force of more than 200, has regained the same level as prior to the fire, and we expect significant growth in the future." Today, Liebherr Brasil GMO LTDA is a vital part of the joint production networks of four different Liebherr divisions: Earthmoving, Mining, Maritime and Construction Cranes, and Mixing Technology. "Our current manufacturing program includes the R 944 C, R 954 C and R 964 C crawler excavator models, the A 924 C material handler as well as the L 538 and L 580 wheel loaders," Stroebele said. "For worldwide mining customers we currently produce the R 9350 and R 9400 large hydraulic excavators." The nationwide after-sales service network operates a total of 18 offices with experts in all of Brazil's five regions. These branches employ a total staff of 590 employees to provide services for construction equipment as well as for the products of other Liebherr divisions in Brazil, which includes about 40 pieces of mining equipment most of which are operating in the iron ore mines. "At our Carajas location, we intend to erect a maintenance workshop and a spare parts store for our mining equipment at Vale's iron ore operation—the largest of its kind worldwide," Stroebele said. In the last 10 years, Liebherr Brasil has seen its business grow eightfold from $19.3 million in 2001 to almost $258 million in 2011. To meet this level of growth, Liebherr Brasil's staff grew from 300 to 1,200 during the same timeframe. "Besides the volume of staff, one of our most persistent challenges is the question of qualification," Stroebele said. "In contrast to Liebherr's traditional European home markets, acquiring the qualified labor needed for our high product quality standards is a very difficult task. This is why we decided to establish our own training and education facility, which was opened in 2011." In addition to these efforts, Liebherr Brasil established a welding course more than 10 years ago that helps maintain the weld quality for which the company is renowned. "We also created the Jovem Talento Programa (Young Talent Program) in 2008 in partnership with SENAI—Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial (National Industrial Training Service), to provide the after-sales service skills needed by our organization," Stroebele said. "Last but not least we support the public 'Aprendizes SENAI Program' (Apprentice SENAI Program). This program is aimed at young people who wish to acquire technical and professional skills to facilitate their first career steps." The success that Liebherr has enjoyed in Brazil was only possible with a sound investment. Decisions were made in good time and a general commitment to this market was a matter of corporate policy for Liebherr, Stroebele explained, long before the notion of BRIC as a synonym for dynamic markets was born. Vale's Capão Xavier Iron Ore Mine The mining-related stop on the Liebherr tour was the Capão Xavier mine near Nova Lima, Brazil. Vale operates in all five of Brazil's geographic regions. A large fleet of Liebherr mining excavators are employed at iron ore mines operated by Vale close to Belo Horizonte. One of those mines is Capão Xavier, which is part of the Paraopeba Complex, located on the east side of Minas Gerais. The mine is part of a region known as the Iron Quadrangle, which is adjacent to the municipalities of Belo Horizonte, Santa Bárbara, Mariana and Congonhas do Campo and covers an area of 7,500 km2. In 2011, Capão Xavier's produced 8.4 million metric tons (mt) and contributed 2.6% to Vale's total production of iron www.e-mj.com JANUARY 2013 • E&MJ; 83