FLSmidth and Northern Heavy Industries Group Co Ltd (NHI Group), based in Shenyang, China, have signed an agreement to enter into a joint venture – with an equal amount of shares – for the design and supply of mining equipment targeting the mid-market segment. The joint venture will be established with its own board of directors and management under the name NHI-Fuller (Shenyang) Mining Co Ltd (NHI-Fuller), which will financially report results as part of the Minerals Division in FLSmidth. Subject to obtaining regulatory approval, it is anticipated that NHI-Fuller will be operational in the first quarter of 2017.

The NHI-Fuller products will be designed for the specific needs of mid-market or capex-sensitive customers in the mining industry and will be marketed under the NHI-Fuller brand name. While the initial focus will be to supply crushing products, the goal of the joint venture will be to become the leading mid-market mining equipment supplier for other product lines as well.

“In 2014, we announced that part of our strategy in the Minerals Division was to enter the expanding mid-market for mining equipment. With the NHI Group, we have now found a perfect industrial partner for this quest,” says Group Executive Vice President of the Minerals Division in FLSmidth, Manfred Schaffer.