This year, Metso celebrates its 150th anniversary. The story of Metso started in 1868 as a local ironworks, and is linked to the development of urban environments and the modern way of life, the company stated.
Metso has evolved through a series of mergers, acquisitions and divestments. “With our own operations in more than 50 countries and over 12,000 dedicated professionals working for us, Metso todayis truly a global industrial company providing the world’s mining, aggregates, recycling, and process industries with innovative solutions for the sustainable processing and flow of natural resources,” the company stated.
During its 150 years, Metso has been in many businesses, ranging from steam engines, locomotives, car manufacturing, forest machines, and pulp and paper machines, to valves, metal and waste recycling equipment, and solutions for rock and mineral crushing and screening, to name just a few.
“One of our core areas of expertise today is aggregates and minerals processing: key ingredients for the construction and manufacture of the infrastructure, housing and consumables needed for growing populations and urban areas,” the company stated. “The first innovations that kicked off mechanical crushing and screening processes in the mines and quarries were introduced in the 1800s. Bruno Nordberg, a Finnish migrant who settled in Michigan, produced some of the first crushing equipment for mines. In 1928, Nordberg acquired the Symons cone crusher technology, an innovation that revolutionized crushing practices in the mines and quarries. Bergeaud & Bruno was established in France in 1895 to manufacture crushing equipment, and in Tampere, Finland, Lokomo produced its first jaw crushers at the beginning of the 1920s. These industry pioneers are all key components of our DNA.”
The amalgamation of Svedala Industri Ab into Metso in 2001, and the introduction of solutions like primary gyratory crushers, grinding mills and vertical shaft impactors was elemental in the creation of a full-scope offering for crushing and screening. “Thanks to our strong installed base and close cooperation with our customers, we have been able to continuously develop our services, equipment and systems to best meet the needs of our customers,” Metso said. “Our latest innovations – like Life Cycle Services, energy-efficient HRC high-pressure grinding technology, Megaliner mill linings, the MX Multi-Action cone crusher and Lokotrack Urban jaw crushing plants – have quickly become household names among our customers around the world. Digitalization, sustainability and energy-efficiency are some of the focus areas in our current R&D projects. The Metso Metrics concept, which comprises of a cloud-based, remote monitoring and data visualization service for mobile crushing plants, will soon be introduced to mining and recycling processes, too.”
Metso is probably the only company in the world that can say that it has been providing equipment and services for the recycling business already for 100 years. With the importance of the circular economy increasing, recycling is more important than ever. Metso is in a good position to provide the necessary equipment and services to handle virtually any type of waste or scrap metal. “Our metal recycling offering rests on a strong platform built on the Lindemann, Texas Shredder and N-Series technology, covering a wide range of efficient solutions for the fragmentation, compaction and separation of different types of metal scrap,” the company stated. “We are also one of the world’s leading suppliers of solid waste recycling equipment, thanks to the acquisition of M&J Industries in Denmark in 2010.
“In flow control, our solutions are built on innovative Neles and Jamesbury valve solutions,” the company continued. “Neles Oy was established by Antti Nelimarkka and Eino Santasalo in 1956. The first Neles valves were originally designed for the needs of the pulp and paper industry. Soft-sealed Jamesbury valves, Mapag valves (now part of the Neles product portfolio), valve controllers and globe valves were later added to the portfolio to complement the offering. Today, various process industries – often located close to urban areas and including, for example, pulp and paper, chemicals, energy, gas processing and LNG, industrial gas, and refining – rely on our flow control products and services to run their processes safely and reliably.”
To celebrate its 150th anniversary, the company has organized a photo exhibition illustrating how Metso has taken part in shaping and building the modern world. The exhibition features photos, stories and insights into how the world and the industry have changed over the time. The focus is on three main themes: Building Urban Environments, Enabling the Modern Way of Living, and Reaching for the Future.
The Metso 150 photo exhibition is open to the public from Sept. 18-30 at Sanomatalo, Töölönlahdenkatu 2, 00100, Helsinki, Finland.