On Feb. 25-28, Epiroc, the subsidiary of Atlas Copco Group made its debut at the SME Annual Conference & Expo in Minneapolis, MN as the title sponsor of the conference and as an exhibitor.

Jess Kindler, PT Atlas Copco Nusantara and chair of SME’s Mining and Exploration Division told Mining Engineering and other media during the three day conference that the roll out at SME was the culmination of a full year’s worth of work and that the company is now poised for a bright future thanks to handful of acquisitions and other strategic moves.

Atlas Copco, a company with more than 140 years of experience of building mining and construction equipment, announced in January of 2017 that it would spin off its mining division to create this new company. Kindler stressed that the move is a growth opportunity. Epiroc has its own board of directors and a narrow focus on mining, infrastructure and natural resources.

It began operating as an independent company on Dec. 1, 2017.

The name, Epiroc, was selected out of almost 1 000 names evaluated. Epi is a prefix meaning “on” or “at” in Latin and Greek. Roc signals stability and durability, and rock is one of the most important materials that the company works with.

“Epiroc was formed to better serve our customers,” said Turgay Ozan, president of Epiroc USA. “Becoming Epiroc enables us to build on more than 140 years of Atlas Copco quality and expertize, while focusing all or our energy on partners in mining, infrastructure and natural resources. We’re dedicated to delivering them the performance they need to maximize productivity today, and the technology they need to complete in the future.”

At SME, Epiroc featured a variety of solutions, including:

• The Scooptram ST7 Battery, a battery-powered loader designed to increase production while meeting and exceeding environmental standards and safety requirements. Epiroc is migrating its entire underground rock excavation product line to battery power.

• The automation-ready Boomer S2, a compact two-boom face drilling rig for mine development and small tunnels.

• The Pit Viper series of surface blasthole drills that offers Rig Control System (RCS) with automation capabilities as standard.

• The SmartRoc series of drills with automation features along with intelligent functions that maximize consistency, save fuel and extend component life.

• The Mobilaris Mining Intelligence position-based support system that increases personal productivity and safety by tracking equipment, vehicles and personnel in real-time 3D.

• T35 and T38 Powerbits for tophammer surface drilling, part of a bit line that can improve service life by up to 75 percent.