Bradken Purchases Peruvian Foundry From Funtec

Bradken aims to rapidly supply products and further expand its mill liner business to respond to the vigorous demand in South America, the largest market for mill liners in the world^*1, with a focus on Peru and Chile where hard rock is mined in abundance. Bradken will now complete construction of the foundry with first production of large mill liners expected in 2026.

Under the "BUILDING THE FUTURE 2025" Medium-term Management Plan of the Hitachi Construction Machinery Group which started from FY2023, "Expanding Business in the Americas" is stated as one of the four core strategies with the aim of achieving growth as a true solutions provider.

This recent purchase was decided as part of the goal to provide products and solutions that solve customer issues at various touch points from Pit to Plant (from mining to processing) at mining sites.

Mill liners are cast consumable parts attached inside the mineral processing equipment (mills) that crush ore extracted at mining sites and separate out the useful minerals. They are used for gold, copper, iron ore, and other types of hard rock. The South American market for mill liners is the world's largest and focuses on hard rock. Chile and Peru in particular have a high concentration of copper and gold mines which account for more than 80%^*2 of the demand for large mill liners in the South American region. Currently, Bradken imports mill liners for the South American market from India and Canada. However, producing mill liners locally in Peru will build a speedy product supply system and improve the ability to meet the needs of our customers, including providing a pathway to recycle spent liners, delivering a more sustainable mining process.

 *1, 2: According to a survey by Bradken as of January 2024.

The foundry purchased from Funtec is located in Chilca, approximately 70 km south of the capital city of Lima, Peru. Since this foundry is located in an industrial park, has many of the main plant items on site and already has permission for plant operation, typical approval and construction times can be accelerated.

Furthermore, due to the ability to procure power based on hydroelectric power generation utilizing Peru's abundant water resources, the new plant is expected to reduce annual CO2 emissions during plant operation by approximately 95%^*3 compared to the use of typical electrical energy by maximizing the usage of hydroelectric power.
 *3: Based on a comparison of CO2 emissions when using hydroelectric power and typical electrical energy at the Peru plant.

Since its establishment in 1922, Bradken has been in the casting business for more than 100 years and has expanded to 40 sites in 15 countries. After the foundry in this project starts operation, it will first focus on expanding sales to Peru followed by additional investment in production facilities and a gradual increase in personnel with the goal of expanding sales to other South American markets. 

This purchase marks the first large-scale investment project in South America in the independent business undertaken in the Americas by the Hitachi Construction Machinery Group since March 2022. In the future, the Group will consider utilizing the Peru foundry targeted for investment at this time as a depot for storing Hitachi Construction Machinery mining parts and plans to leverage it as a South American mining market base for the Hitachi Construction Machinery Group.

Overview of the Bradken Peru plant

About Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (TSE: 6305), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a construction machinery manufacturer which globally deploys development, manufacturing, sales, and service businesses for its hydraulic excavators, wheel loaders, compaction equipment, and mining machinery, etc. In addition to its new machinery business, Hitachi Construction Machinery is expanding its "value chain businesses" of parts and services, remanufacturing (parts and machines), rentals, and used equipment as it aims to grow together with customers as a true solutions provider that offers innovative solutions to customers. With roughly 25,000 employees around the world, the consolidated sales revenue for Hitachi Construction Machinery was ¥1,279.5 billion for fiscal year 2022 (ended March 2023) with an overseas sales revenue ratio of 82%. For more details, please see the company's website.

Information contained in this news release is current as of the date of the press announcement, but may be subject to change without prior notice.