The North American divisions of Sandvik Mining and Construction and Dyno Nobel Inc. — both global suppliers to the aggregate industry — have renewed their cooperative agreement in North America. The agreement was originated in March 2005. Since that time, the two companies have worked together to add value for customers. To date, they have offered their customers training programs on an ongoing basis. The focus is on helping customers facilitate the entire mineral extraction process — drilling, blasting, haulage, crushing and screening. Future work will focus on ways to improve the overall efficiency and payback of mining operations.

The cooperative agreement, which allows for greater flexibility in providing individually customized solutions, centers on enhancement of product development; marketing and sales; improved quality of products and service. In short, it enables representatives from both Sandvik and Dyno Nobel to help mutual customers better compete in their respective markets. As part of this initiative, the two companies will conduct another Quarry Academy Nov. 11-13, 2008. Held in conjunction with the Colorado School of Mines, this technical conference will provide attendees with the latest ideas on “Improving Processes. Instilling Expertise.”

“Sandvik's mission is to add value to our customer base by having a deep understanding of the issues that confront them,” says Dan Allan, Sandvik's regional president. “We rely on our employees and our partners to ensure that we have access to the skills, ideas and innovations that will help us provide solutions to these issues. We see this alliance with Dyno Nobel as a huge step in the right direction for us in this process while it enhances our competence base.”